What could this be.....Please help!

[Mastiff]

My 406 2001 110 HDI is not working!

She has been fine although the power steering went heavy the other day and lights went very dim.

I fitted a new Aux belt (Drive belt as some call it!) last July. Well I checked this the other morning and it was fine, still got markings on the outside etc. I turned the car on and put my voltmeter to the battery and it was returning 11.8v, I put it to the alternator to which I got the same reading....11.8v. Once I turned the car off I checked the Aux belt again and it was red hot to touch, this is after the car had been on idle for all of 2 minutes?

What could it be......,Alternator, battery or maybe something else that drives the Aux belt? She has covered 121,800 miles.

Huge thanks for any help in advance.

[DiscoPol]

if the belt is getting hot then it or one of the pulleys is under friction somewhere, i would check the idler pulley and then everything else it runs round, whip the belt off and make sure everything is is free to turn by hand, hopefully this will allow you to find the culprit, the only other thing i can think of is that its a bit loose and skipping on the pulleys hence the build up of heat.

hth

Edit: why did Puggy manage to say what i was trying to say in about a tenth of the words

[puggy]

Sounds like something is siezed or about to sieze , is it making a noise ??

[waue1978]

That's pretty much exactly what happened on my HDi Xantia when the bottom pulley (from cambelt) went. I was lucky enough to catch it before anything really bad happened. It also made the blowers go funny. If you know anybody who can, get them to check out your bottom pulley, just in case.

[puggy]

[Mastiff]

The Aux belt has snapped off! How can I check the bottom pulley.....I did try and tighten it the other day and it spun the complete Aux belt around? I do know my belt was 2mm to big as that is all Moto-serv had in at the time.....Surely 2mm to big would not cause this......or would it?!

Thanks again for fast and helpful replies

[teamster1975]

It shouldn't matter if the belt was 2mm too big as the tensioner would take up any slack.
I would try turning everything by hand; the alternator, power steering pump, aircon compressor & pulleys to see if any are binding.

[lozz]

Mastif,
this is what happend to mine, check the Air comp , mine locked up & burnt the belt out,
2nd one locked up and smashed the crank pulley to bits,

dont put a Aux belt on till youve checked the air comp is all running free,
if its locking up replace it or retire it to wheelie bin and fit none aircon type -aux belt

[Mastiff]

Mastif,
this is what happend to mine, check the Air comp , mine locked up & burnt the belt out,
2nd one locked up and smashed the crank pulley to bits,

dont put a Aux belt on till youve checked the air comp is all running free,
if its locking up replace it or retire it to wheelie bin and fit none aircon type -aux belt

Thanks Lozz

Going to sound really thick now...... Which one is the aircon pulley? All I know is there are a few pulleys down there, I know which one the alternator is as I know what an alternator looks like I dont know what the aircon thing looks like! Will I know by trying to turn the nut outside it that it is broken as in it wont turn?

The bottom pulley turns!! There is also another pulley towards the front that has a plate kind of thing on the front of it, that seems a bit loose and rusty.....Dont know what it is for?!

Thanks again everyone for your help


I think I found the aircon comp by typing in 'aircon comp 406' into google......It is showing this what is what I have now underlined above


http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp28 ... 1251843380

Is this it?

[lozz]

Hi mastif,

pic here,

check the pulley moves freely if it doesnt then most probs the clutch part is seized up,
Mine seized solid and the belt just burnt its self round it ,

air con comp.jpg

[Mastiff]

This cant be right......The pulley for the alternator is gone!! Anyone heard of this, is this time for a new alternator or can I get another pulley for it? All other pullies spin with ease except the bottom one!!

[puggy]

Has the pulley snapped off ??? does the alternator shaft still turn ??
the bottom pulley you mention is it the one attatched to crankshaft
cos that one you wont turn .
earlier in the thread you mentioned running the engine for a couple of
minutes with not very high voltage coming off it but belt was very hot
after, perhaps that was when the alternator was beginning to sieze ??

[lozz]

This cant be right......The pulley for the alternator is gone!! Anyone heard of this, is this time for a new alternator or can I get another pulley for it? All other pullies spin with ease except the bottom one!!

Bottom pulley is crank, it wont turn freely ,

pulleys for the alternator can be bought but personaly ithink it be quicker and cheaper to throw a 2nd hand alternator on,
ebay jobbie or one from breakers yard,

Good luck with it


Lozz

[Mastiff]

Thanks once again guys...... Very helpful

Going to check Ebay now and see if I can hunt one down!

[jasper5]

This cant be right......The pulley for the alternator is gone!! Anyone heard of this, is this time for a new alternator or can I get another pulley for it? All other pullies spin with ease except the bottom one!!

Think yourself very lucky that the pulley didn't snap off....I've seen these pulleys break off and punch right through the bonnet (on a couple of VWs).