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Car Forum / Driving, Maintenance, Tuning / Maintenance and Repair / December 2005Alternator / serpentine belt question...
Hello, I have a question below about grandfather's 93 dodge caravan / plymouth voyager. Its a 3.3 and the serpentine / drive belt has 6 groves running the length of it if that helps. Is this the appropriate newsgroup to post a repair question or is there a better place? I noticed last weekend the serpentine drive belt began squeeking but I didn't think much of it at the time as it hadn't caused a problem. My grandfather went to start the car yesterday morning after driving home from work with the lights on the night before. When he got in yesterday morning. It wouldn't start due to a dead battery. I charged it for a few hours on a slow charge and then tried to start it, it would run for a few seconds but only when I kept my foot on the accelerator and when I took it off it would stall. So I gave it a full charge over night and it appears to run fine today, but I'm worried that it's not getting a charge by the car and I don't want him to get halfway home and have the battery run flat on him and have him on the side of the road. I'm trying to add some tension to the belt as it began squeaking when ideling and accelerating the other day. At the same time I noticed that my headlights, digital clock, and dome lights are dimmer until I rev the engine, when they return to normal until I take my foot off the accelrator. I'm assuming I either have a belt problem, a belt tensioner problem, or an alternator problem. I took a look at a chilton manual last night and according to the diagram of the belt tensioner, I just needed to put a 15mm wrench on the nut and go counter clockwise to tighten the belt up. I moved it as much as I could (its hard to get my hand and a shortwrench in there so theres not much leverage) it tightend slightly (very slightly) and the squeek disappeared for about a half a minute before it came back. The belt appeared to loosen a bit as well. Is there another way to tighented a drive belt or is it an indication that the belt, tenisioner and or alternator needs to be replaced? I have a little radio shack multimeter if that will be of any help diagnosing the problem. thanks for the advice, I'm over my head here... You might be able to narrow it down by carefully feeling the alternator with your hand after it runs for a little. It shouldn't be very hot. I have seen one red hot on a Caravan so be careful with your hand. That could be the alternator putting the load on the belt. The alternator also should be putting out somewhere around 14 volts when running, but it can do that with a bad bearing too.... Or maybe it's just time for a new belt? Mike 86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00 88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's Canadian Off Road Trips Photos: Non members can still view! Aug./05 http://www.imagestation.com/album/index.html?id=2120343242 (More Off Road album links at bottom of the view page) > Hello, > [quoted text clipped - 41 lines] > > thanks for the advice, I'm over my head here... Mike, just double checking... are you saying that after running the car for a few miles, a hot alternator = a possibly malfunctioning alternator or a hot alternator = a possibly working alternator just thought I'd check. also when people say my multimeter should read 14 volts when running with the lights on, where exactly am I measuring? The battery terminals (ie red wire on positive and black connected to engine block or other ground)? thanks for everybody's help... -jason > You might be able to narrow it down by carefully feeling the alternator > with your hand after it runs for a little. It shouldn't be very hot. I [quoted text clipped - 70 lines] >> >> thanks for the advice, I'm over my head here... If the alternator is working it will be warm. If the bearing has gone bad enough to load up the fan belt, it could be red hot, but it will be hot. I doubt you need to drive it to have it get hot if it is bad, just sitting there at idle should do it. Your voltage readings at the battery posts or at the back of the alternator on the large red wire and alternator case should be the same within +/- 0.1 Volts or so. The voltage readings 'can' still be ok and the alternator can be mechanically dead. Mike > Mike, just double checking... are you saying that after running the car for > a few miles, [quoted text clipped - 86 lines] > >> > >> thanks for the advice, I'm over my head here... > Mike, just double checking... are you saying that after running the car for > a few miles, > > a hot alternator = a possibly malfunctioning alternator > or > a hot alternator = a possibly working alternator Cold alternator = probably not working Warm alternator = probably working red-hot = bearings shot and seizing up But that's a pretty crude test. Checking the voltage is much more precise. > also when people say my multimeter should read 14 volts when running with > the lights on, where exactly am I measuring? The battery terminals (ie red > wire on positive and black connected to engine block or other ground)? Yes, check at the battery terminals. The voltage should stay up around 14 when the engine is running, and should remain nearly constant as you turn loads (eg. headlamps) on and off. If it does THAT, then there's no question that the alternator is working. If the battery still goes dead, then its either a bad battery or a parisitic electrical load that should be eliminated. If the voltage drops badly when you turn loads on AND the belt squeaks when you turn on the load- then its probably the belt slipping and not a bad alternator. I dont know about this specific one, but most tensioners for serpentine belts that I have seen are not really adjustable. They are spring loaded, and automatically put about the right tension on the belt. You use a wrench to twist the torsioner to the side, and remove the old belt. Put new belt on in the reverse way. If they go bad, you normally just replace them. (I bought one for my Dodge van at NAPA not long ago.. It was as described above, BUT the engine is different of course). I would probably replace belt and tensioner as a matter of maintenance. The alternator still could be bad, but you can have it checked at most parts stores. As I said before, I may be totally wrong about this engine. |
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