alternater belt keeps dying
Moderator: RichardW
alternater belt keeps dying
in the last 2000 miles my mi16 engine has done, the belt broke, then i found worn alternater bearings so replaced it, now the belt has broken agn in the zxs first proper thrashing. any1 else get this problem? im running the short belt as not air con fitted(yet)
I haven't done a belt as yet, but my BX has air/con fitted & hence has a jockey wheel. When I bought a new belt, I thought ir was the wrong size and assumed it was for a series one without air/con, however as I also have access to one of those I checked it & found that whilst it was smaller than the original, it was also larger than the series one (no air/con) size.
I eventually discovered that the jockey wheel is apparently no longer made, hence the original sized belt is NLA and instead is replaced by one that goes from crank, to alternator & over the air/con pulley.
No matter how tight I adjust that belt, it still keeps screaming at me particularly on start up when cold, & the fact I have to keep adjusting it tells me that it's only a matter of time before it goes "boiiiinnnng."
If you find a cure or anyone elses experience would be most appreciated.
Alan S
I eventually discovered that the jockey wheel is apparently no longer made, hence the original sized belt is NLA and instead is replaced by one that goes from crank, to alternator & over the air/con pulley.
No matter how tight I adjust that belt, it still keeps screaming at me particularly on start up when cold, & the fact I have to keep adjusting it tells me that it's only a matter of time before it goes "boiiiinnnng."
If you find a cure or anyone elses experience would be most appreciated.
Alan S
Owners on the Swedish Citroen Q & A have reported that the only remedy to get rid of a screaming PSA engine belt - was to replace the screaming beltwheel.
If the belt snaps w/o a proper screaming warning - then the problem is a stalling driven device - or a wrong grade belt. I.e. the belt does not have adequate pulling strenght. Or it may run over-tightened.
Alternator V-belts should easy give ½ an inch on the long runs - when pressed with a thumb. The pulling relies on the V-shape & moderate belt tightening.
Donno about the MI16 engine - does this belt drive other peripherals than the alternator (non A/C) ?
If the belt snaps w/o a proper screaming warning - then the problem is a stalling driven device - or a wrong grade belt. I.e. the belt does not have adequate pulling strenght. Or it may run over-tightened.
Alternator V-belts should easy give ½ an inch on the long runs - when pressed with a thumb. The pulling relies on the V-shape & moderate belt tightening.
Donno about the MI16 engine - does this belt drive other peripherals than the alternator (non A/C) ?
a bit off subject, but about two years ago i had a Porsche 944, now the alternator belt on this was quite hefty with the alternator needing to power quite a few on board creature comforts.
while driving home on the a41 north of whitchurch on a cold winters evening at rush hour the battery light came on, i promised myself to lok at it in the morning confident the battery would get me the 20 miles home.
well what had happened was the tensoining strut for the belt had snapped, well right about 5 minutes later came the scariest moment of my life, a loud bang then the car lifting up on the near side, scrapping and smashing all underneath the car, sparks flying, all at 50mph on a v.busy single lane road.
not having a clue what had happened as we screched to a halt, i thought id lost a wheel or something,
when i got out the car and examined the debrey id left it quickly became apprent that bits and pieces made up an alternator, and oh, looky over here an intact belt, not so much as a nick on it
what had happened is that when the tensioner snapped, the belt had wraaped around the alternator and crank sproket, instead of snapping, the belt ripped the alternator off the engine, the alternator attachement was still in one piece but the casting that holds it to the block, was completely wrecked, a massive casting held to the block by four long studf bolts i wish i took a picture of the damage,
normally people complain about squeeking and snapping belts, well heres one that went beyond all expectations of life expectency, shortned my life of about 5 years, and almost wrote of my porsche, respect.
while driving home on the a41 north of whitchurch on a cold winters evening at rush hour the battery light came on, i promised myself to lok at it in the morning confident the battery would get me the 20 miles home.
well what had happened was the tensoining strut for the belt had snapped, well right about 5 minutes later came the scariest moment of my life, a loud bang then the car lifting up on the near side, scrapping and smashing all underneath the car, sparks flying, all at 50mph on a v.busy single lane road.
not having a clue what had happened as we screched to a halt, i thought id lost a wheel or something,
when i got out the car and examined the debrey id left it quickly became apprent that bits and pieces made up an alternator, and oh, looky over here an intact belt, not so much as a nick on it
what had happened is that when the tensioner snapped, the belt had wraaped around the alternator and crank sproket, instead of snapping, the belt ripped the alternator off the engine, the alternator attachement was still in one piece but the casting that holds it to the block, was completely wrecked, a massive casting held to the block by four long studf bolts i wish i took a picture of the damage,
normally people complain about squeeking and snapping belts, well heres one that went beyond all expectations of life expectency, shortned my life of about 5 years, and almost wrote of my porsche, respect.
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RichardW
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When the alternator seized on my BX TD the (multi groove) belt was so strong it just stalled the engine, and it couldn't be restarted until the belt was dropped off.
SWMBO was driving at the time, in traffic - I guess if it had gone at M-way speed it would have just shredded the belt after a few moments of low power. A few choice words were exchanged later that day (probably not helped by me saying "Oh, I wondered when that was finally going to give out")[:D][:D]
Richard
SWMBO was driving at the time, in traffic - I guess if it had gone at M-way speed it would have just shredded the belt after a few moments of low power. A few choice words were exchanged later that day (probably not helped by me saying "Oh, I wondered when that was finally going to give out")[:D][:D]
Richard
Just a thought, but a long time ago I had a 1500 Allegro that absolutely ate belts, and it turned out that when I changed the water-pump I refitted the pulley back-to-front; the pulley had an offset; it was only 2 or 3 mm, barely noticable, I certainly didnt notice it when i put it back on, but it was enough for the belt to run off line, and so shred at the edges and therefore break pretty quickly.
So, as you changed the alternator, check that the pulley was refitted in the correct place and the right way round, and its in line with the other pulley.
So, as you changed the alternator, check that the pulley was refitted in the correct place and the right way round, and its in line with the other pulley.