Belt sqeek when lights on at night

[vtracer20]

Okay here is the deal...when starting up my belts sqeek..they stop after like 5 minutes....but when i drive my car at night and lets say stop at a light my belts start to sqeek agian...but they wont stop untill i turn off the lights. THis is really really G&* cause i cant drive at night unless i'm on the highway....another thing i noticed, when the belt is sqeeking the power steering is kinda weird and everything in the car seems to be dim and work slower (example: wiper go slower, but when stopped sqeeking they work fine) any suggestions on the problem? I have a replacement power steering and alternator that are going in this summer but dont have time or money right now to put in. anything i could try? THanks

 

[luv2rallye]

Tighten the alt. belt (replace if worn).

 

[FORMONTOYA]

i had a similar problem with my backup car, 94 galant, crank pully going out. pretty common on mitsubishi.


jim

 

[vtracer20]

i replaced my alt and powersteering belts not that long ago

 

[Trite]

i had a similar problem with my backup car, 94 galant, crank pully going out. pretty common on mitsubishi.


jim

I had the exact same problem. I first tried to tighten the alternator belt, which did work. But about 2 days later I went around a curve and the engine started ticking in sync with the revs.

When I stopped at a stop sign my crankshaft pulley simply fell off and rolled away from the car.

Turns out the crankshaft pulley bolts were loose causing it to sit at and angle since the belts were pulling it up. When I tightened the belt it eventually snapped off all of the pulley bolts.

I would suggest checking to see if those bolts are loose.

Btw, after replacing the bolts it has never let out a single peep. This could be an easy fix for you.

 

[vtracer20]

yeah but would this be happening on electrical load? cuase it seems yea the start up i can understand but when i turn on my lights and i'm at low rpms it starts to sqeek amediatly but once i turn off the lights it goes away...i've noticed today my power steering is making a funky noise when i turn the wheel, kinda like a humming so i' leaning toward that either my power steering is going or my alt or both. I have replacements sitting at my house but i dont have the money or time to replace them (belts).

 

[Patterson]

check the tension.

 

[luv2rallye]

yeah but would this be happening on electrical load? cuase it seems yea the start up i can understand but when i turn on my lights and i'm at low rpms it starts to sqeek amediatly but once i turn off the lights it goes away

It can. Check the crank pulley for separation. Higher electrical load puts more stress on the pulley.

 

[FORMONTOYA]

yeah but would this be happening on electrical load? cuase it seems yea the start up i can understand but when i turn on my lights and i'm at low rpms it starts to sqeek amediatly but once i turn off the lights it goes away...i've noticed today my power steering is making a funky noise when i turn the wheel, kinda like a humming so i' leaning toward that either my power steering is going or my alt or both. I have replacements sitting at my house but i dont have the money or time to replace them (belts).

that is exactly what was happening to the galant. the pully was starting to seperate. tightening the belts only made the situation worse. crawl under there and check the pully first, it was around $75-$100 new, alot cheaper than an alt or ps pump. i would look at crank pulley first as this is fairly common on these cars after several years/miles.

jim

 

[Trite]

All I had to do was replace the bolts. I doubt there is anything wrong with the pulley itself. I just imagine the bolts have backed out a bit, and now they will be stretched. So I would advise replacing them.

And yes, it did squeek when I:

Started the car
Turned on the headlights
Turned the steering wheel all the way
Turned on the A/C
Turned on rear defroster
And even when I slowed down to an idle at a stop sign.

 

[vtracer20]

okay cool...so replace the bolt....now how much is the bolt or do i replace the whole pulley? either way how much?

 

[Trite]

The bolts would be just a few dollars at an auto parts store.

Remember, Grade 8.8 minimum.

 

[vtracer20]

sweet tahnks guys...i'll look over the car soemtime this weekend....i'll keep ya posted