Can a bad belt cause alternator problems?
Can a bad belt cause alternator problems?
A broken belt will prohibit the alternator from doing its job and can be the cause of the lights on the interior of your car becoming dim or flickering. Replacing the belt is essential in restoring the lights back to normal.
What are the symptoms of a bad serpentine drive belt?
Symptoms of a Bad or Failing Serpentine/Drive Belt. Common signs include a squealing noise from the front of the vehicle, power steering and AC not working, engine overheating, and cracks on the belt.
What causes a squealing noise from the serpentine belt?
If you notice a squealing noise coming from the front of your vehicle, it could be from the serpentine belt. This could be due to a slippage or misalignment. The only way to make the noise go away is to contact a professional mechanic and have them replace the serpentine/drive belt or diagnose the issue. 2. Power steering and AC not working
What happens if you lose the water pump on the serpentine belt?
However, the most critical problem is losing the water pump. If the engine has a water pump on the serpentine belt, your engine will start to overheat within seconds. It will be overheated within a minute or two. You need to get pulled over and get the engine stopped as quickly as possible.
Can a loose serpentine belt cause an alternator to whine?
If the belt is too loose to maintain grip on the alternator pulley, you may experience a similar symptom as a snapped belt. If you start to notice a whine from the engine that changes with engine speed, you may want to have the tension of the serpentine belt double checked.
Why is my serpentine belt not working properly?
You can drive the car for some time without noticing any problems. Eventually, because of battery discharge, the lights will get dimmer and the car will start to crank poorly. Only then will you notice that you have a problem. Main cause of this problem is material fatigue of the belt so changing it on time will probably prevent this.
What happens when a belt tensioner goes bad?
When the tensioner has an issue, it can affect the how the belts drive the pulleys which can affect the performance and functionality of the vehicle. Usually a bad or failing tensioner will produce a few symptoms that can alert the driver of a potential problem that should be serviced.
When did the serpentine belt come off my Chrysler?
The 3.3L and 3.8L engines are the ones with the most problems when it comes to the engine belt coming off. The model years are 1996 through 2001, but I’ve seen older and newer ones do the same thing. Automobiles with this engine option installed are some of the most popular ever built.
Why does my serpentine belt make a squealing sound?
If the front area of your vehicle makes squealing sounds, then your serpentine belt might be misaligned or slipping. Sometimes it might just take a realignment or proper tensioning of your serpentine belt to fix this problem.
