my girlfriends 899 sei a year ago started to thread its alternator belt a bit and so i had a mechanic friend order a euro-part belt and fit it, a couple weeks later the belt started squeeling as the alternator slackened from the bracket so i took the time to tighten it up- it has continued to loosen every month or so and ive tighened it soo many times more recently i placed a bolt between the tighning channel on the alternator to stop the alternator dropping again - this worked ok for month then it started up again so ive just been puttin wd40 0n the belt to hide the squeel until i got around to replacing the belt one more time..

but tonight as my girl was driving home from work and the coolent light and battery light came on then a minute later the car overheated she pulled over and when i came to inspect the belt had gone- sooo my dilema is this - do i order a new belt fitit and hope that does the job? or is there something else like a shot alternator causing this contant loosening? how can i tell if the alternator has gone? cheers for any advice guys as im lost

i would inspect the belt pulleys first, look for any damage and/or sharpness

Cheers

Lenny

feel/listen what/to the bearings are like within the alternator

i dont think a sharpness caused this snap as it was squeeling all the way home as it has been doing alot- thus wearing the belt untill it snapped.. would damaged bearings cause extra strain on the belt thus causing it to loosen all these times? also how can i tell if the alternator is shot - the belt is currently off so can i splin the alternator wheel to tell in anyway?

belfastchris said:

i dont think a sharpness caused this snap as it was squeeling all the way home as it has been doing alot- thus wearing the belt untill it snapped.. would damaged bearings cause extra strain on the belt thus causing it to loosen all these times? also how can i tell if the alternator is shot - the belt is currently off so can i splin the alternator wheel to tell in anyway?

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Damaged bearing can cause lots of damage (like a bust g/box,as i found out coming back from stanford)

~Does the alternator spin freely??if it does then i dont know what it'll be,if its stiff...
~Try and listen for worn bearings

cars a mile away so ill have to check tomorrow- ill order up a belt and go have a look tomorrow but if anyone knows what may have caused the constant loosining of the belt id appreciate it.. could a cheap replacement belt have caused the slipping? cheers

Check that the wtaer pump bearings are OK as well as the alternator bearings. The alternator shouldn't come loose but by excessive tightening of the belt would cause both bearing wear and the belt to strain.

Cheers

D

just spoke to my mechanic, he said it could be a bad battery causing extra strain on the alternator thus causing it to pull harder and squeel the belt so ima stick a new battery in there and belt see how it goes..

a bad battery causing an alternator to strain is frankly..bulls**t.

the alternator is dumb, and will supply a maximum current. If the battery is rubbish, it won't charge, fullstop. If the alternator if faulty, it may undercharge OR overcharge the battery, but it won't put strain on it.

Kristian

kritip said:

a bad battery causing an alternator to strain is frankly..bulls**t.



Kristian

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Time to change his mechanic, methinks.

Cheers

D