knuckless

So i took my car out a long road trip today for the first time in awhile. drove from nj to virginia. but we had a bit of a problem. the alternator apparently wasn't tightened enough and it slipped so that the belt had all kinds of slack in it, i didn't find out until 4 hours into the trip when my battery died from not being charged at all. i jumped it and adjusted the alternator so its in place, the belt had quite a bit of rubber shaved off it and now it wines like crazy, worst ive ever heard a belt wine. is this because the belt got so worn or could there be another problem now?

the belt is cheap enough so i plan on going to autozone in the morning and getting a new one. just want to get an idea on wether this is my main problem or not

hiboostwoody

Are you sure it's the belt and not the alternator whining? The belt is probably really glazed from slipping and that will cause it to lose traction and squeal but if the alternator has a bad bearing that will also cause a loud whine, espescially under a load.

knuckless

yeah im guessing its the belt because the alternator pulley looks really glazed inside the groove. i replaced the alternator last summer so im hoping its not the alternator, i plan on getting a wire brush to the pulley itself to scuff it up a bit and replace the belt since its cheap

but it could be the alternator since it is a loud whine

71Mach14spd

I would start with the cheaper solution and just replace the belt, and if it still whines then you know its the alt. If not that you just fixed your problem.

knuckless

it was just the belt, there is still a tiny squeal but i found my warranty information for my alternator so im set to replace that to anyway.

kalli

well,
remove the belt and check if the alternator turns easy. no grinding, no play
then put a new belt on.
Check that the belt is not sitting on the middle of the pulley. the belt has to sit on the shoulders of the pulley.
Then check if all pulleys are lined up (not that one of them sticks further out than the otehrs)
Then tighten the belt in such a way that where you have the longest distance between two pulleys, you can only twist the belt by max 90 degrees around it's own axis with thumb and middle finger (that's the german way ... ;-)

I'm quite sure it's just the belt. but the alternator lamp should have come on when the alternator wasn't charging. So make sure to check on that. It is utmost important, because if the belt snaps, the waterpump will not turn anymore either. your car will overheat before you know it. The alternator warning lamp is the best warning you can get for a loose/lost belt


Kalli

Randys66gt

Another good thing to do is to have your pulleys either sand blast or take sand paper and sand the grooves. up and down, not side to side like the belt runs. I had mine sandblasted and the taped them off and painted, eveything except the grooves and haven't had probs since.

knuckless

i highly doubt my alternator warning light even works, the belt was worn so much it was sitting low in the valley on the pulley and no where near the shoulders, so i got a new wide belt that fits perfect. the alternator turns freely and fine but the pulley seems like its a little offset, like i said i can get it replaced free so i might as well before the warranty expires next month

luckily my car did not over heat, it sat right below 190 degrees the whole trip which was great so i guess the water pump must have been moving just enough

knuckless

when i bought the belt i bought sandpaper and sanded the pulley because it was so glazed i thought that could be a major problem in the belt slipping. ill take the belt back off and sand up and down cuz i kinda just sanded all sorts of ways