I have a 2002 VW Jetta (so an MK4) and it's a GLS.
I've been having problems with my battery dying. I checked the alternator and battery, both passed.
Anyways, I decided to let it idle for a long time to let the battery fully charge. I left my car running. I came back out about 2 hours later, and saw some thin smoke (so thin it almost looked like vapor, but it was dark out) come from the engine and I immediately turned it off.
The thing is, I have no idea how long it was overheating. And what's weird was, the temp gage was all the way down as if the car had been running cold. I know the car was running hot because I smelled burning, ,as well as if it's running for that long, a car should AT LEAST be at operating temperature.
Did my engine blow up? Could I have melted internal parts?