Alternator belt or whole new alternator?
today the battery warning light came on (and stayed on throughout a 15min journey) in my 2010 Vauxhall Combo Van 1.7cdti.Battery was tested right away at Kwikfit and all ok.The warning light has gone off now and has stayed off but Kwikfit said that the alternator belt looks worn. They suggest i get a whole new alternator (total cost £434!!!). Can an alternator belt be replaced without having to replace the entire alternator? They said they would need to do diagnostics to confirm the alternator is the problem but had no one available to do that til next week. Suggested i just replace it all!
n
n
Experienced mechanics share their insights in answering this question :
Hi There,
If the diagnosis was that the battery is being overcharged, you may have a faulty voltage regulator that could be allowing the alternator to supply too much amperage to the battery resulting in the battery never maintaining a consistent charge as it is designed to. The voltage regulator is a unit that regulates the charging of the battery by the alternator. When the voltage regulator is not working properly, this may result in the alternator allowing too much power to be delivered to the battery resulting in damaging wires and prematurely sometimes destroying the battery. A common sign of this is usually the acid inside the battery boiling causing the battery to swell. You may also smell a bit of smoke due to things potentially getting too hot. In other cases it may result in the alternator not supplying enough power to the battery, resulting in undercharging the battery or not charging it at all. I would recommend having an expert from YourMechanic come to your location to diagnose your vehicle’s charging system.
If the diagnosis was that the battery is being overcharged, you may have a faulty voltage regulator that could be allowing the alternator to supply too much amperage to the battery resulting in the battery never maintaining a consistent charge as it is designed to. The voltage regulator is a unit that regulates the charging of the battery by the alternator. When the voltage regulator is not working properly, this may result in the alternator allowing too much power to be delivered to the battery resulting in damaging wires and prematurely sometimes destroying the battery. A common sign of this is usually the acid inside the battery boiling causing the battery to swell. You may also smell a bit of smoke due to things potentially getting too hot. In other cases it may result in the alternator not supplying enough power to the battery, resulting in undercharging the battery or not charging it at all. I would recommend having an expert from YourMechanic come to your location to diagnose your vehicle’s charging system.
How to Identify and Fix Common car Problems ?
Our sources include academic articles, blog posts, and personal essays from experienced mechanics :
When replacing and alternator, other upgrades are worth doing too. Go ahead and change the serpentine belt, tensioner and idler roller when replacing an alternator on your car or truck.
How long does a serpentine belt last? Being made of durable rubber, a serpentine belt can last anywhere from around 50,000-100,000 miles.
All that happens when the belt disappears or pulleys seize is the alternator stops turning; there is NO possibility of damage to the alternator. Once you re-apply a new belt, or new pulleys, the accessories start turning again, just like before and the alternator produces current to charge the batteries.
– Belts A belt slipping around a pulley reduces the efficiency of the components it drives. A worn, defective, or incorrectly tensioned belt can lead to battery failure and engine overheating.
The short answer is yes, your car will start even if the serpentine belt is broken or missing. To get the car going, the battery sends power to your starter motor. The starter motor provides enough power to get your engine moving and the combustion process started.
How Long Can A Car Engine Run With A Broken Serpentine Belt? There are a couple of factors influencing the answer to this question, but on average, your car should be able to run between 20-90 minutes with a broken serpentine belt.
Typically a damaged belt tensioner will not impact vehicle performance. It would cause the serpentine or drive belt to wear prematurely or to squeak – but not cause the acceleration issue.
What are the dangers of driving with a broken alternator belt? If you continue to drive with a broken alternator belt, you run the risk of loosening your engine`s cooling systems, which can result in the engine overheating—this can lead to severe engine damage and, in some cases, total engine failure.
Once your belt is compromised, it can produce further damage to the vital systems—such as the alternator, water pump, power steering and air conditioning—that depend on it.
As these belts wear out, they can begin to squeak or squeal. They make noise because there is not enough tension on the belt, or because the pulleys are misaligned or weak. Often, simply changing the belt will make it stop squealing. The noise isn`t usually a danger, though it does sound alarming.
If the belt is too tight, it will cause excessive side loads and overheat the bearings. This in turn causes noise, decreased output and even the seizing of the alternator. If the belt is too loose, it will cause the alternator to slip.
Bad Serpentine Belts Cause Vehicle Performance Issues
Your air conditioning or power steering may fail to work or not work properly. You may notice your vehicle battery failing to recharge if the alternator is affected by a bad serpentine belt.
Serpentine belt replacement is easy because today`s automatic drive belt tensioners eliminate the need to loosen bolts or pry components into position for retensioning. Just rotate the tensioner, remove the old belt and install a new one.
Too much wear due to heat and friction will cause a serpentine belt to break over time. That`s why regular inspections are vital to making sure this doesn`t happen.
A weak battery cannot have any effect on alternator, but a poor or weak alternator can deteriorate the battery very quickly. A broken battery also has an effect on an alternator as it puts more pressure and stress on the alternator while working and sometimes destroy the alternator as well.
Alternators can go bad suddenly, or slowly over time. If your alternator is slowly going bad over time there are some warning signs you can look out for.
Unreliable Engine
One of the first issues you might notice when your alternator is on its last legs is the engine struggling to start or randomly stalling as you drive. This is because the engine depends on the alternator to provide energy to the spark plugs and trigger the ignition process.
Signs of a Bad Alternator
Some of the things to look for are no-starting and trouble starting, dimming lights and problems with stereo system output. If your car starts but stalls when you`re underway, your battery is probably not being recharged due to a faulty alternator.
Defective charging system – A car battery drains quickly if something called the alternator on your charging system fails to push out enough voltage, ideally between 13.5 – 14.5 volts. In this case, the battery will continue to drain even while the car is running.
Remember that while a car can run off just the alternator, run time varies dramatically. You may be able to drive for just five minutes or up to two hours. It all depends on how fast and how far you drive. , now might be a good time to use it!
Battery issues are some of the most common loose alternator belt symptoms since a slipping belt means curtailed or no power to the battery. When this happens, the battery will use its reserved electrical charge to power up all the components in the vehicle.
Relevant Questions and Answers :
the most relevant questions and answers related to your specific issue
Alternator belt or whole new alternator?
ANSWER : Hi There,
If the diagnosis was that the battery is being overcharged, you may have a faulty voltage regulator that could be allowing the alternator to supply too much amperage to the battery resulting in the battery never maintaining a consistent charge as it is designed to. The voltage regulator is a unit that regulates the charging of the battery by the alternator. When the voltage regulator is not working properly, this may result in the alternator allowing too much power to be delivered to the battery resulting in damaging wires and prematurely sometimes destroying the battery. A common sign of this is usually the acid inside the battery boiling causing the battery to swell. You may also smell a bit of smoke due to things potentially getting too hot. In other cases it may result in the alternator not supplying enough power to the battery, resulting in undercharging the battery or not charging it at all. I would recommend having an expert from YourMechanic come to your location to diagnose your vehicle’s charging system.
If the diagnosis was that the battery is being overcharged, you may have a faulty voltage regulator that could be allowing the alternator to supply too much amperage to the battery resulting in the battery never maintaining a consistent charge as it is designed to. The voltage regulator is a unit that regulates the charging of the battery by the alternator. When the voltage regulator is not working properly, this may result in the alternator allowing too much power to be delivered to the battery resulting in damaging wires and prematurely sometimes destroying the battery. A common sign of this is usually the acid inside the battery boiling causing the battery to swell. You may also smell a bit of smoke due to things potentially getting too hot. In other cases it may result in the alternator not supplying enough power to the battery, resulting in undercharging the battery or not charging it at all. I would recommend having an expert from YourMechanic come to your location to diagnose your vehicle’s charging system.
Read Full Q/A … : Alternator belt or whole new alternator?
We have a new battery, new alternator, new coil pk, new master fuse and the car still won’t hold power.
ANSWER : Hi there. The only thing that I could think possible is causing your problem is that something may not have been correctly installed while your son was completing this maintenance. However, if your engine was difficult to start before this service, it’s possible there are different components that are damaged that simply didn’t resolve the issue. The only way of knowing what is going on with your Trailblazer would be to have one of our mobile mechanics in your area come to your location and complete a car is hard to start inspection.
Read Full Q/A … : Alternator belt or whole new alternator?
my battery kept draining until i bought a new alternator and battery. i have tightened the belt on the alternator but it still die
ANSWER : Hi there. The best way to diagnose why a battery would constantly drain is to review it’s job and how it is recharged. The battery is responsible for powering all electrical systems until the vehicle is started. At this point, the alternator takes over and also continually charges the battery while the vehicle is in use. A battery will drain when one of two things occurs. First, a battery will drain if it is constantly in use; supplying power to an electrical component even if the key is not in the ignition. Second, the battery will eventually die if the battery is not being charged frequently. However, since this is happening every two days, my initial thought would be that some electrical component on your 86 Olds is continuing to draw power from the battery. This is known as a parasitic drain. The best way to determine the source of this battery issue is to have one of our professional mobile mechanics come to your location and complete a battery will not hold a charge inspection.
Read Full Q/A … : Alternator belt or whole new alternator?
hey i had a belt break while traveling on my 2004 honda pilot. It is the small belt and not the serpentine belt. The mechanic t
ANSWER : Hello. The smaller belt is known as your timing belt, and it works inside the engine to keep mechanical components aligned with each other during the compression cycle. The serpentine belt, which is the big belt, drives the alternator, water pump, AC compressor, and a couple of other components. If the small belt broke it is likely the timing belt. This will cause the car to stall, lights to illuminate, and can even cause serious damage to the engine. Typically replacing a timing belt is a lot more complicated and expensive than replacing a serpentine belt. You may want to receive a second opinion on the car before you go ahead with repairs.
Read Full Q/A … : Alternator belt or whole new alternator?
Old belt was sqeeking, new belt does not but it slips off constantley. The old belt stays on though. Why is this?
ANSWER : Check to be sure that the new belt is actually the right part number or, better yet, use an OEM (dealer) belt. Also, be sure the tensioner is the right part number or use an OEM sourced tensioner. Check to be sure that all of the pulleys and accessories (e.g., alternator, water pump, A/C compressor) that are driven by the serpentine belt are all operating in the same plane. It is not unusual for the pulley on the crankshaft harmonic balancer pulley to move (generally outward) relative to its original position. The pulley is rubber bonded and over time can move. If that pulley moves, that means that the belt groves are no longer running in a perfect plane and that alone can cause slipping. If you request serpentine belt inspection a certified Mechanic, dispatched by YourMechanic right to your location, will identify the problem and thence get the issue resolved for you promptly. If you have further questions or concerns, do not hesitate to re-contact YourMechanic as we are always here to help you.
Read Full Q/A … : Alternator belt or whole new alternator?
It cranks doesn’t start new batteries, oil pressure switch new pmd, new injection pump. new alternator, new glow plugs.
ANSWER : Hello.
A crank but no start condition can be caused by many things. A few common causes are a faulty crank position sensor, or issues with the fuel system. The crank position sensor is used in the engine’s fuel calculations, and in some cases it’s failure will disable the engine.
It may also be possible that there is issues with the fuel system that are preventing the engine from running. If the fuel pump or injectors have an issue the engine may not run correctly, or at all. It may also be possible, for either case, that the issue may be wiring related.
I would start by trying to determine if the engine is getting fuel and then going from there. If you need assistance with these checks, consider YourMechanic, as one of our mobile technicians can come to you in order to diagnose your starting issue firsthand for an accurate repair.
Read Full Q/A … : Alternator belt or whole new alternator?
Belts are cracked and need replacing, okay to leave off a/c belt?
ANSWER : Hello. If the belt driving the A/C compressor only drives the A/C compressor and nothing else, you can remove it with no consequences. The fan shroud is not optional equipment however as it has both a cooling system function and a safety function.
Depending on your climate, you might consider diagnosing the A/C system and repairing it. If you use a service such as YourMechanic, it will often be economical enough to do it, particularly if the fault is limited.
Even if the compressor shaft sealing is leaking (would be likely after 25 years), that is fixable in the field. Feel free to contact YourMechanic if you have additional needs relative to this or the replacement of your power steering, alternator, A/C belts.
Read Full Q/A … : Alternator belt or whole new alternator?
I got a new battery new alternator put in but my battery just gets drained I keep having to buy new batterys
ANSWER : This may be a sign of a failing voltage regulator or potentially a bad grounding problem causing a draw on the system. The voltage regulator is a unit that regulates the charging of the battery by the alternator. Often times this will result in the alternator allowing too much power to be delivered to the battery resulting in damaging wires and prematurely sometimes destroying the battery. In other cases it may result in the alternator not supplying enough power to the battery, resulting in undercharging the battery or not charging it at all. In either case, I would recommend having an expert from YourMechanic come to your location to diagnose your vehicle’s charging system.
Read Full Q/A … : Alternator belt or whole new alternator?
