![]() 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. If the belt is too loose to maintain grip on the alternator pulley, you may experience a similar symptom as a snapped belt. A vehicle can often run without a working alternator for a bit of time, but not for long. Without the alternator’s charge, your car will eventually die from the electricity used by the spark plugs, the radio, and the headlights. Even if you’re able to get the car started, a snapped serpentine belt will not allow the alternator to charge the battery. If you’re driving along one day and suddenly lose power, check under the hood to see if your serpentine belt is still attached. If you notice visible cracks or damage to anywhere on the belt, this means the belt is bad and needs to be replaced right away. If you want to know if your belt is bad, simply open the hood and look at the belt for yourself. The serpentine belt is easy to access in most cars. In some cases, you will need a new serpentine belt. Sometimes a loose serpentine belt can be fixed by adjusting or replacing the serpentine belt tensioner. As you give the car gas to raise the engine speed, this rhythmic sound should speed up. This sound is often correlated to each revolution of the engine. If your serpentine belt is loose or frayed, you may hear a rhythmic flapping or scraping sound in the engine bay. While you’re under the hood, check to make sure the power steering reservoir has the recommended level of fluid. This issue could also be caused by low power steering fluid. If you have a bad serpentine belt, then it will be harder to move the steering wheel to steer your vehicle. Power steering is what gives drivers the ability to smoothly steer their vehicle without needing to apply too much arm strength. The serpentine belt allows the power steering system to function properly. See Also: Common Causes of Serpentine Belt Noise 3) No Power Steering In other cases, the belt is probably damaged and will need to be replaced. Sometimes it might just take a realignment or proper tensioning of your serpentine belt to fix this problem. If the front area of your vehicle makes squealing sounds, then your serpentine belt might be misaligned or slipping. If you turn on your air conditioner and see that it does not blow out cool air from the air vents, this could possibly be due to a bad serpentine belt. Since the serpentine belt keeps the air conditioner functional, a bad serpentine belt will take that function away from it. 1) No Air ConditioningĪ malfunctioning air conditioner can be attributed to a lot of things. ![]() Below are some of the most common symptoms of a worn serpentine belt. Several signs will present themselves when a serpentine belt is starting to wear out. If the alternator pulley stops spinning, there’s no way to charge the battery. A snapped serpentine belt could leave you stranded. Common Bad Serpentine Belt SymptomsĪ bad serpentine belt is not the type of maintenance you want to defer. Both types of belts serve a similar purpose. You’ll often see multiple v-belts in an engine, but only one serpentine belt. These are thinner and smaller than serpentine belts and usually connect one accessory to the crankshaft. Older engines have v-belts instead of serpentine belts. If your vehicle is supercharged, the serpentine belt also powers the supercharger. As your engine runs, the spinning motion of the crankshaft is transferred to each of the accessory pulleys via the serpentine belt. You usually have to tear down part of the engine to reach the timing belt.Įngine accessories need to get their power from somewhere, and it may surprise you to learn that that place is not the battery. ![]() Serpentine belts are different than timing belts, which are usually not visible just by popping the hood. The ridges help maintain grip when turning the accessory pulleys. These belts are easily identifiable by their distinct ridges that run the length of the belt on one side. How Does a Bad Belt Tensioner Impact the Serpentine Belt?Ī serpentine belt, also called a drive belt, fan belt, or accessory belt, is the main engine belt that you see when you open up the hood of your car.Can Serpentine Belt Issues Affect Acceleration?.What Happens When a Serpentine Belt Breaks While Driving?.
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