Driving a car without an alternator belt and its consequences

Author: Ivan Baranov

Many drivers, due to their carelessness, may miss the moment of replacing the alternator belt and, as a result, it may break. This happens rarely, but it does happen. What should you do if you don’t have a replacement drive at hand, but you need to somehow get to your home or service station? What could be the consequences? This situation is undesirable, but not critical.

In order to decide what to do in this situation, you need to know what this node is intended for and how it functions. It’s not difficult and every car enthusiast should have an idea, even the most superficial one.

[Hide]

Extending the life of the alternator belt

So, in order for the alternator belt to last a long time, you need to take care of it. Carefully check for debris and dirt in the belt tracks. Check the tension of the alternator belt promptly and carefully. A properly tensioned alternator belt should rotate 90 degrees. A too-tightened alternator belt will quickly become unusable and lead to a series of breakdowns. The consequences of a tightened belt can be sad. This is mainly the failure of the bearings of the generator, pump, air conditioning clutch and power steering. If the alternator belt is not tightened, the belt may squeak when the headlights or air conditioning are turned on, that is, when a load appears on the belt, it will slip along the pulley, which will quickly render it unusable. It is advisable to buy belts from trusted manufacturers and only ones suitable for a car of a specific brand. It is not recommended to install used belts.

Preventive measures

Preventative measures that will allow you to quickly identify or prevent wear:

1. On most cars, according to the service documentation, the alternator belt must be replaced once every 30 thousand kilometers. This interval must be observed or the instructions in the technical manual must be followed.
2. It is necessary to periodically check the tension of the drive belt. The product should not be too tight or loose.
3. Once every 5 thousand kilometers you need to check the condition of the transmission product, or more often if there are signs of wear. Cracks indicate wear on the product.
4. Do not allow oil or other liquids to come into contact with the belt structure.

Reasons why the alternator belt breaks

There are a huge number of reasons why the alternator belt breaks. It is not always possible to predict a broken alternator belt. Therefore, you should carefully monitor the technical condition of the car.

Aging

The main reason for a broken alternator belt is aging. During its service life, the belt experiences enormous loads, from mechanical to thermal. Over time, the elasticity of the belt is lost; it becomes rougher and more fragile; cracks appear, resulting in breakage.

Old belt with cracks

Seized bearings

Another very common problem with a broken generator belt is jamming of the bearings of the mechanisms that drive the generator belt. For example, such as a generator, pump, air conditioning compressor, power steering, etc. To prevent the belt from breaking for this reason, you should listen to the operation of the engine and, if noise appears, eliminate the cause of the noise.

Broken alternator belt

Foreign objects getting under the belt

While driving on the roads, you can often notice various debris or something similar on the road. All this can cause the generator belt to break. Quite often there are cases when stones or sticks get under the generator belt, as a result of which the belt experiences overvoltage and breaks. The same can happen if the car is driven through deep snow, water or mud. In order to avoid such a set of circumstances, it is not recommended to drive without protective boots and generator casings.

Pulleys and Alignment

So, why do belts break? Experts say one of the main reasons is that the pulley is installed crookedly. Lack of mutual alignment leads to the fact that the belt rotates incorrectly, touches various mechanisms with its sides, and quickly wears out.

It happens that the pulley on the power steering pump is placed backwards, incorrectly. Again, no alignment. The pulley is rearranged, the problem disappears.

Crankshaft pulley

It doesn’t hurt to always check another pulley – the crank pulley – for runout. Lack of mutual alignment can also occur due to a crooked crank shaft pulley.

To check the runout, just use a dial indicator.

It is also recommended to check the runout on the generator itself and on its tensioner. Such diagnostics will help determine whether there is a distortion.

A simple inspection of the pulleys is the first thing a caring car owner does. First of all, it is determined whether they are coaxial to each other. This is done like this: if the belt is pulled straight with a string, then the pulleys are in the same plane.

Attention. For V-belts, skew is allowed, but not more than 1 mm per 100 mm.

Alignment is an important thing. Checking it is the first step! It happens that not only the pulleys, but also the units themselves are crooked. For example, a non-original pump may be installed on a car. You check it and see that the difference in size from the hub to the base is very large.

It happens that pulleys come across prefabricated ones. That is, they are made from two halves using spot welding. When the belt is tensioned, the welding may fail and fall off. The tension will push the pulley halves apart, the belt will begin to fall into the resulting gap and tear.

The pulley may also not be original. That is, with a smaller diameter. In this case, a large load will appear on the generator, the belt will begin to slip, and accordingly, its sides will wear out.

It is, of course, better to replace such a pulley, but there are craftsmen who add washers, etc. This technique can achieve alignment, however, not always. You straighten one element, and then you notice that the power steering has gone out of plane or something else.

For reference:

• Pulleys from VAZs are not suitable for many cars due to the smaller diameter of the mounting hole;
• GAZ vehicles often have different planes of rotation, although the diameter may be the same.

Another reason is burrs on the pulley plane. They greatly wear out the rubber material of the belt and can create a step on the product, thereby shortening the service life and causing a break. In some cases, due to burrs, it is not possible to drive even a week with a new belt.

Mutual alignment

Burrs are nodules in the form of metal points that rise above the plane of the pulley. It is clear that this is not acceptable. You should go over them with a file, sand them, in a word. After this, the belt will serve its life, at least for at least 1 year (active operation of the machine).

Finally, the pulley itself may be too stiff. For example, this is observed on old domestic cars. You install new belts, but they are not designed for such metal - Soviet steel, stamped and non-separable design. It is better to replace such a pulley with a solid one made of some light alloy.

It is noteworthy that if the alignment is incorrect, the battery does not hold a charge for a long time, because the belt twists. That is, the gene no longer produces the required voltage, since it is not functioning correctly. All this can be determined by the battery, which quickly runs out.

So, the first reason why a belt can break is problems with the pulley and lack of alignment. Pulleys are often installed incorrectly; they may have differences in plane, burrs, etc. The pulleys themselves may not be original, prefabricated, or too hard.

Article on the topic: Choosing a car jack

What to do when the alternator belt breaks on the road

The first thing you should do is not panic, because there is a way out of any situation. If you are in the city or not far from an auto parts store. You can get to the store without an alternator belt, but you first need to assess the situation.

Some vehicles use an alternator belt drive to rotate the coolant circulation pump. Therefore, if on your car the coolant circulation pump is driven by the alternator belt drive, then driving without an alternator belt on such a car is strictly PROHIBITED . If you start driving such a car, the engine will inevitably overheat and fail.

The engine on which the alternator belt rotates the coolant pump

If the pump on the car is rotated by the timing belt drive, then you can safely continue driving on the battery. For a longer trip, you must turn off all electrical equipment of the car, i.e. turn off the headlights (if you are driving at night, you can turn off one right headlight and continue driving with one headlight, this will save battery power), the interior heater, music, etc. On a well-charged battery, you can travel up to 50 km.

Signs of a weakening and imminent belt break

The owner of a car, be it a Ford Focus, Volvo XC70, Renault, or Mazda, needs to be aware of signs of wear. In order to change a torn or defective strap in time, you should understand the symptoms that allow you to determine whether it is stretched or damaged. What are the signs to determine if a car belt is broken?

1. Formation of cracks across the ribs. The product shows minor damage in the form of cracks. They are located across or along one or more ribs.
2. Product chipping. Small pieces or crumbs of material come off on the inside of the belt. If there is spalling, the situation is critical, since breakage can occur at any time.
3. Seals on the structure. If the alternator belt breaks, it is often due to material abrading from the ribs and accumulating in the grooves.
4. Abrasive wear of the structure. The front of the product is shiny, but subsequently shows signs of wear. The fabric layer is exposed, resulting in damage to the strap.
5. Detachment of one or more ribs. Over time, the edge of the product moves to the side and begins to separate from the base of the structure.
6. Uneven wear of one or more ribs. If one rib wears more than the others, the belt will soon break. With such a problem, a friction sound that is uncharacteristic of the normal operation of the generator may appear, such as knocks.
7. Wear and damage to the outer ribs. The sides of the belt become glossy, and its outer threads wear out. In this case, the ribs look torn. As a result, loud noise appears when the generator set operates. This problem is rare, but can cause the timing belt to become too tight. This will lead to serious damage to the power unit and costly repairs.
8. The surface on the edges of the strap became swollen, scaly and sticky. This occurs as a result of motor fluid entering the structure.
9. The battery charge indicator on the dashboard came on. Its appearance is associated with malfunctions in the battery or generator set.
10. Uncharacteristic noise and extraneous sounds. Clicking, grinding, knocking, squeaking and even chirping noises may occur. This indicates that the product is not working correctly.
11. Formation of cracks on the outside of the belt. This indicates accelerated wear on a VAZ 2107, 2110, 2114 or other car model. Soon the product will begin to whistle and break off.
12. Incorrect operation of optics. When you release the gas pedal, the headlights will become dimmer. When the driver presses on the gas, the illumination of the lights is restored. This is due to the fact that when you press the pedal, the rotation speed of the strap increases.

What to do when the tension weakens?

The first thing to do when the alternator belt is loose is to tighten it. There are several rollers on the generator device, one of them is used for tension. When loosening the strap, take a wrench of the appropriate size and tighten the tension element of the device. But it is also not recommended to tighten it too much, as this contributes to its wear.

What happens when a belt breaks?

If the alternator belt breaks on the road or when starting the engine in a diesel or gasoline car, the consequences for the driver will be unpleasant. What will happen:

1. The generator set will not be able to power the vehicle's electrical network.
2. All energy consumers will be powered from the battery.
3. If the car is equipped with power steering and air conditioning, these devices will not work.

Consequences of driving without a belt

Many car owners are interested in the dangers and whether it is dangerous to rupture the belt of the generator unit in the vehicle. If the belt falls off, then in general this will not affect the operation of the main systems and components of the power unit. Due to the fact that it is coupled with a hydraulic booster system, you will have to apply more effort to turn the steering wheel.

Using the machine with a broken strap can quickly drain the battery.

Watch the video (by Roman Romanov) to see how the generator belt whistles and makes noise before it breaks.

Tools at hand instead of a belt

The alternator belt can be replaced with improvised means that are found in every car and used as a belt.

Handy tools that can be used to replace the alternator belt:

• nylon tights
• tape or tape
• rope
• lumbar belt

Rope instead of generator belt

In order to replace the alternator belt with improvised means, you do not need any special skills in car repair.

Nylon tights and tape are wound on the pulleys where the generator belt should be and tied into a knot; you can drive on such a belt of tights or tape for up to 100 km, after which a break is inevitable. All these items can be used to get to the nearest auto parts store or service station where your car will be restored to good condition.

Video “The timing belt broke: causes and consequences”

In this video, an experienced auto mechanic will tell and show in detail what can happen to the engine if the belt is not replaced in time.

During everyday trips, drivers begin to forget about such things as checking oil, antifreeze and belts. The result is constant breakdowns. If we talk about belts, they simply break.

What function does the alternator belt play?

The newer the car, the more different electronics it contains. In older cars, the only electrical equipment was the ignition system and lighting. Nowadays, almost all elements and accessories in a car consume electricity. The biggest consumers are air conditioning, on-board computer, radio, alarm system. If many accessories are turned on, then the load on the network increases and more energy is consumed. They are all powered by a battery and a generator, which restores the battery charge. The generator is driven from the crankshaft using a belt.

Why does the belt break?

As practice shows, the belt breaks only due to severe wear. During engine operation, the belt experiences heavy loads. Despite the modern manufacturing technology of the accessory, cracks and abrasions may appear on it. It is also very common for the edges to become frayed and teeth to wear away.

If it so happens that you looked under the hood to check the condition of the belts and found at least one of the signs there, then you should think about replacing the belt. Soon he will make himself known. If there is something wrong with the belt, it may “whistle”. Also, a characteristic squeal can be heard in wet weather. Sometimes the whistle disappears, but this only means that the tension has weakened. You can tighten the belt tighter, but you shouldn't. Better to replace it. Replacing the alternator belt yourself is not a difficult task. But you can also contact the station.

Video “Instructions for replacing the alternator belt yourself”

Using the example of VAZ Samara cars from the 2110 family, we suggest that you familiarize yourself with a detailed guide on how to replace the alternator belt with your own hands (the material was filmed and made public by the channel In Sandro’s Garage).

Often in our work we are faced with the following situation: a call comes in asking to send a mechanic to replace the alternator belt. People do not always understand which belt has broken and what needs to be done in such a situation. In order to decide what to do, you need to understand which belt has broken: the timing belt or the alternator belt. Next, we will consider both situations and propose methods for solving them.