electrical problem....

i have a 92 tsi all stock...on my way home today i noticed that my car was running cooler than ussual and my stereo would cut out of sound for a few seconds every couple of minutes then it just went off...a minute or 2 after it went off i started smelling burnt plastic so i pulled over....when i got stopped my car was smokin from under the hood so i popped it up and the smoke was comin from the back corner of the motor on the drivers side....i couldnt tell where it was coming from so i just let it cool off and tryed to start it but it would only turn over half a turn and thats it....it wouldnt have enough power to turn over again....when i put my key in my belts went up and all my lights inside were working so i know that its not my battery....anyone have any ideas to what it is?

Use the proper subforum

I would assume its something wrong with the starter...might have burned up the motor if the lock ring (I think) inside failed and it kept spinning while the car was running. Im probably way off though.

i have a 92 tsi all stock...on my way home today i noticed that my car was running cooler than ussual and my stereo would cut out of sound for a few seconds every couple of minutes then it just went off...a minute or 2 after it went off i started smelling burnt plastic so i pulled over....when i got stopped my car was smokin from under the hood so i popped it up and the smoke was comin from the back corner of the motor on the drivers side....i couldnt tell where it was coming from so i just let it cool off and tryed to start it but it would only turn over half a turn and thats it....it wouldnt have enough power to turn over again....when i put my key in my belts went up and all my lights inside were working so i know that its not my battery....anyone have any ideas to what it is?That doesn't necessarily mean it isn't the battery. Get your's tested, or try to jump start it so we can rule out the battery %100. Lights don't require as much power to run as the starter does to turn the motor. ;)

Also if you can pop start it then you can deff narrow down the problem by possibly saying that the starter is effing up.

ok this morning i went out and looked under the hood for a minute and didnt see any burnt wiring so i just started it...acted like it didnt want to start but i gave it some gas and it started right up...i turned it off after a minute and it started up like normal then...my temp guage is still reading alittle cooler though but there is no smoke at least???my stereo still cuts out bad and when i turn it up it gets staticy then cuts out...my wipers are also in slow motion and when i turn on my a/c it makes a bad whining noise...could it be that my compressor is locked up or something?

Check your belts for any smooth spots, burrs, cracks, etc....Replace them if need....if not check the tension, make sure everything is nice and tight.