Engine died while driving, Blown ASD fuse & VERY Hot

[MyCruiserHatesMe]

Ok here goes... Hi all! I have been lurking around your wonderful Forum for a week or so now trying to track down the problem with my PT Cruiser, I have really learned alot, but I'm kinda at a loss for direction now so I hope ya'll can help!

I drive a '08 Turbo, with about 55K miles, I am the Second Owner it was a rental car before I bought it about 15K miles ago.

I was driving in a neighborhood (under 25 mph) for about an hour, it was a really hot day and we had air on, we were delivering newspapers and then the engine just died. I popped the hood and it was VERY hot, no steam or smoke but the yellow arm to hold hood was almost to hot to touch. The temp gauge hadn't moved from the almost horizontal position it usually maintains and Coolant looked to be at the ADD line, but not empty, so I had it towed home.

It sounded like it wanted to start just needed a lil gas but wouldn't turn over. I poked around online and learned the codes it had were P0302 and P0688. The 0302 - misfire code has haunted me since I bought the car, the dealer replaced plugs and wires but "couldn't find a mechanical problem" last year. The 0688 was for Auto Shutdown, I found a blown fuse, the 30amp ENG ASD Control Feed 1. I replaced it and it started up. Joy of joys! Sadly short-lived though, as I was naive to think replacing the fuse had fixed the problem.

I took her to get oil change, they put about 1 qt coolant in and a new air filter. I went out on a short trip, about 25-30 miles away, mostly highway speeds and it died again, when I was turning on my street. Temp gauge hadn't moved, but VERY hot again, let it cool overnight, replaced the fuse and brought it home again. It has the P0668 code but not the misfire code this time.

I checked all the other fuses, but they look fine. I let it run about 20 mins in driveway, the radiator fan came on twice for a few mins and also when I ran A/C. I noticed a small amount of fluid under engine. Looks pinkish, kinda watery I'm thinking its coolant (?). The "puddle" is not under the coolant holder area, or by radiator cap, it's on the driver's side almost under the air filter area.

Is there anyway I can tell what I'm dealing with before I take it to a shop? I am not working with any regularity and can't afford a long fishing trip to diagnose the problem or to throw a bunch of the wrong parts at her (probably can't afford the fix right away either!) but I'd like to know whats going on so I can try to save as much as possible.

Sorry for the long post, I don't know what matters and what doesn't so I thought I'd better paint the whole picture! Any advice or ideas would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!
~ Amber

[CREWZIN]

Amber,

Did a lot of searching but couldn't pin point the ASD problem. It seems it runs a whole host of different things on the PT and anything could be shorted out that would cause the fuse to blow. Something of course is being affected by the heat in your turbo engine, but what, I don't know.

The pinkish fluid is almost definitely coolant and if it's on the drivers said, it could be coming from the radiator or lower radiator hose.

[thesameguy]

Pinkish fluid under the air filter sounds like transmission fluid to me... that would be right where the transmission pan is.

[Dill]

Also what kind of coolant was used. Pts are picky!

[MyCruiserHatesMe]

The fluid is definitely closer to the transmission dipstick than to the coolant/radiator, but it doesn't seem thick enough to be transmission fluid, it's pretty watery in viscosity.
The coolant is Zerex G-05, well about a quart is anyhow, that's what they added when I got my oil change.

[thesameguy]

Transmission fluid isn't particularly thick, especially when hot. Crawl under and and see if you can see where it's coming from, or get it to a shop and have them throw it up on a lift and walk around underneath it.

[MyCruiserHatesMe]

My neighbor saw me *trying* to crawl underneath and came over to help. Thank goodness cuz I prolly would have got stuck like Winnie the Poo in the honey tree. These babies are looooow!
Anyhow he tells me its transmission fluid, not coolant, that is drip dripping. The dipstick reads at the ADD dot, which is a bit strange seeings how Vavoline said they checked it and it was OK when I got my oil change, I've only driven maybe 60 miles since. Its not leaking that bad! ("puddle" is about 2 quarters in width)
I suppose I should try to track down what maybe blowing the fuse and what is causing the excessive heat, after I have Vavoline add transmission fluid, any suggestions?
Thanks so much for taking the time to help me troubleshoot this problem, I really appreciate it!

~Amber

[CREWZIN]

Not saying your not low, in fact you probably are if there's small puddles under the car, but the trans should always be checked at normal operating temperature with the engine running and make sure the car is on a level area.

How to Check Automatic Transmission Fluid - For Dummies

[thesameguy]

If the trans shows low when it's not running, it's probably fairly low. With the engine running, fluid gets pumped into the torque converter and valve body and the reading on the dip stick goes down. When the car is sitting, that fluid drains back into the pan and the reading goes up. Confusing matters is heat, as with the engine running and the transmission at operating temp, the fluid expands a little and the reading goes back up.

If it left a 1" puddle on the ground from sitting a day, that's a good leak. You need to find out where that's coming from since transmissions do not do well when they are low on fluid.

I don't think this leak could be related to the blown fuse, but it's certainly somewhere to start. For the most part, a leak like this should not be expensive to fix, so that's a plus. Maybe wrap it into a transmission filter change, since 55k is a good time for that, and you'll probably only add $15 to the bill.

[MyCruiserHatesMe]

I appreciate the link for checking the transmission fluid, I knew the engine had to be running, but didn't consider temp and level ground.
Vavoline was nice and topped off the transmission fluid, they said it was a little low but not alarmingly so. I will definitely have the transmission filter changed and leak addressed, thanks!

Do you think the Zerex G-05 coolant they used is ok for my PT? Just want to know if it needs to be changed out... obviously not the most pressing issue at hand, but it would feel good to fix something!!!

If anyone has some ideas about the ENG ASD Control Fuse I would be interested...
Thanks again for all the info and suggestions, I appreciate your time!
~Amber