[RESOLVED] Alternator Belt Snapping

[Vandal]

Urg. Today will be the 3rd time in 2 weeks that my car will be in the shop. It's a 95 Tsi AWD with 140k on it. This is the sequence of events when this happens...

-Lights dim
-Minor squealing
-Burning smell
-Snapped in half

The first time it happened the belt had a lot of mileage on it, so a new one was put on and some bad grounds fixed.

The new one snapped along with the other belts on my way home from picking it up (bout 15 miles into the trip home). They replaced the original harmonic balancer since the rubber ring was just about gone with an OEM one from the dealer.

Drove it for 2 days (figure about 120miles total) and that belt snapped this morning on my way to work.

I trust this garage. They've done a lot of work on my car and I never had any issues. I'm wondering what else could be the problem here. I want to say the alternator, but the car can sit at idle for an hour with no issues or squealing. As soon as it gets under any sort of load (going uphill or accelerating out of speed zones), this has happened. I've checked the tensions myself and that was fine. Belt never just pops off, it always snaps in half.

Alternator (which has a total of maybe 5k on it), or could it be something else?

 

[Boost92awd]

So its snapping in half or is it ripping/tearing?

 

[Vandal]

Snapping in half.

 

[Dsmj89]

You probably are tightening the belt too tight. Make sure you dont have any bent pulleys as well.

 

[Boost92awd]

I would check all your pulleys to make sure there not sticking. In order for the belt to just snap its got to be binding up somewhere.

 

[97GSTAUTO]

I wouldnt take it to the shop for a alternator belt. Unless they are charging like $15. Its so easy to change you can change the belt in the time it takes to take it to the shop. But maybe the reason it snapped is because they over tightened the belt. Or maybe one of you pulleys are warped/damaged some how WTF. But save yourself some money and do it yourself.

 

[iluvmy4g63]

i had problem like this before. the best thing to check, is belt straightness....

problem was the alti,pully and water pump pully was out of wack. what has to be done is have some washers installed on the alti, bolt. this way it true's up the belt and makes sure its straight.

it pretty much shifts the alti, over about a half inch. and makes fot a better path for belt travel. hope this helps..

 

[Vandal]

I wouldnt take it to the shop for a alternator belt. Unless they are charging like $15. Its so easy to change you can change the belt in the time it takes to take it to the shop. But maybe the reason it snapped is because they over tightened the belt. Or maybe one of you pulleys are warped/damaged some how WTF. But save yourself some money and do it yourself.

I'm not worried about the $$$. The towing company I work for has interest in this shop, so it's a win win. Free towing and repairs, unless it's a major repair. Reason I don't bother with it is lack of garage, snow on the ground, and lack of personal time to work on it.

 

[->PrOjEcTGS<-]

I am betting that your crank pulley/harmonic damper is separating and tearing up your belts in the process. I've seen this happen a lot of times. When this starts to happen the pulley will either just throw the belt off or snap it if it was on tight enough.

 

[Vandal]

I am betting that your crank pulley/harmonic damper is separating and tearing up your belts in the process. I've seen this happen a lot of times. When this starts to happen the pulley will either just throw the belt off or snap it if it was on tight enough.

It was just replaced a few days ago with a brand new OEM one. They found that to be the case the second time it was there and now I had the same problem this morning.

 

[->PrOjEcTGS<-]

Sorry didn't see that line in your OP.

Anyway, have you tried different belt manufacturers? Maybe it's rubbing on something? Alternator bearings bad making it pull on the belt?

 

[97GSTAUTO]

Another possibility is that they put the Waterpump/Alternator/Power steering pump pulley together wrong. I almost did that before. Ditto on the alternator bearings and add the water pump bearings also. One day I heard unusual noises coming from under the hood. Got home opened the hood and noticed that the water pump pulley was wobbling really bad. Checked the belts.. and everything was tight. Took the belts off and I could move the water pump shaft quite a bit. Replaced it... no wobble.. no noise.

 

[Defiant]

It was just replaced a few days ago with a brand new OEM one. They found that to be the case the second time it was there and now I had the same problem this morning.

So you've blown three harmonic balancers? Are you buying Mitsubishi parts, or Dorman?

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/pro...ilure-again-napa-dorman.html?highlight=dorman

 

[Vandal]

So you've blown three harmonic balancers? Are you buying Mitsubishi parts, or Dorman?

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/pro...ilure-again-napa-dorman.html?highlight=dorman

Sorry for the confusion, it was replaced once. First time a belt went, the belt was replaced. I made it about 15 miles from the shop and that belt snapped. Second time it went back, they noticed the original balancer in poor shape, so it was replaced with a mitsu one. This post came as a result of the car going back in a third time to see if anyone had any ideas other than the obvious. They may have found the culprit though. The car was put on a dyno to try and recreate the incident and during the test, the alternator was seizing up. That's going in today and hopefully the issue is over with...until the next one, anyway

I'll let everyone know how my trip home is .

 

[Illmat1c]

That is not a fun problem to be honest I would check your pullies.

 

[soulweaver]

Buy all new pulleys, belts and don't put to much tension on the belt and I promise your problem will be fixed.

 

[NeMiZiS]

Wow, I could never imagine taking my car to a shop for an alternator belt.
Weird...

 

[shredwin]

mine alternator belt snaped not too long ago, as soon as i got on the interstate 80... I reaplaced and havent had any problems yet. thats weird your keeps on snaping, maybe its rubbing against something sharp

 

[jdd1231]

If the new belt snapped its possible it was just overtightened.Alternators usually dont lock up,unless they are waaay bad,I'm talking bearing falling out,and you would clearly hear them.Possibly something is misaligned? Like was mentioned,take it back,make them fix it.

 

[Vandal]

Well, I made it home. Maybe I'm just paranoid, but the new belt squeals at random times..same as the past 3 incidents. It'll start squealing out of no where and stay squealing until the car shifts (automatic). I parked it and watched it for a good 10 minutes, didn't see any wobbling, rubbing, belts stayed in line on the pullies, etc.

Only other tidbit of info that I can add is that I had no issues with the car whatsoever until the night prior to the first incident. My battery ran dead overnight because the center console wasn't fully shut. Having no cables available, I swapped another battery into it that was charged. 5 miles later I was SOL on the side of the road with a snapped belt. That's what got this entire ordeal in motion.

NeMiZis, if it was summer and not 20 degrees out, I would do it myself . But since I don't get charged for labor and parts are wholesale prices, I just have them do it.

 

[Bubbs Malone]

It's a long shot, but would bad motor mounts cause the motor to shift enough to snap the belt? I'm just dreamin' here.

I had my Alternator belt shread recently, pain in the butt. A few hundred miles later and it seems fine though.

 

[knochgoon24]

Have you tried cleaning the pulleys off? It might be slipping every time the RPM changes abruptly. That slipping causes heat, which weakens the belt. Eventually it snaps. Try cleaning all the pulleys down really good.

 

[Vandal]

This can officially be changed to resolved. No issues since the alternator was replaced. I had to retighten the new belt when I got home, but that was it.

Thank you for the replies everyone!

 

[DSM_Nick]

Glad to know, seeing as I had some similar problems. Hopefully it won't happen again

 

[MidShipCivic]

When the electrical system demands more amperage from the alternator it puts a load on it, so if your belt isn't right it will not have traction for those events.