[strtfghtr]

Hey guys, my 99 cherokee was making a funky noise last night and actind weird. It sounded like a belt slipping, high squeeling noise coming from the engine bay, it's got a new serpentine belt (about 2 months old) but the car is hardly ever driven. Well it made this squeeling noise then all of a sudden the voltage gauge drops down to it's bottom (it was hovering at the normal 13-14 range), no electrical problems though the radio was working fine and the lights didnt fade at all, then a "Check Gauges" light came on. I stopped the car and restarted and everything went back to normal.

Is this something like the belt slipping and temporarily losing drive to the alternator?

 

[StylinM6s]

idk but then again it does have 119k+ miles on it. My mom actually has the same Jeep only automatic

 

[Betelgeuse]

Yeah most likely the belt is slipping. Check the tensioner if it has one.

 

[84FordMan]

Replace the belt tensioner, it should be replaced with every belt replacement (Which on modern cars occurs around the 50 to 60K mark). It's also a good idea to replace the idler pulley as well, they are dirt cheap and usually replaced at no extra charge when you replace the belt.

Also spray some belt dressing on both sides of the belt for extra traction if you bought a cheap belt (Like a Drive Right $10 to $18 belt versus a Dayco $35 belt, the design differences are astounding).

Belt noise can be caused by many things, worn idler pulleys, worn out belt tensioners, alternator/power steering/air conditioning compressor/water pump bearings siezing up. Whenever I have a belt off, I always spin the pulleys and see if there is any resistance or noise.

 

[strtfghtr]

I hit the belt with a little belt dressing and checked the tensioner seemed ok. Drove the car around for a while on sat morning, then took the Jeep on a trip to Worcester, MA and to UConn and back to milford (about 300 miles or so with picking up and dropping off people) and the Jeep ran perfect. I think the new belt was just "finding" the sweet spot for running

 

[LapisLazuli6]

I had a PT Cruiser and I had to have the serpentine belt re-tensioned like 5 different times for some reason. The car used to have little 'power surges' like that, but only one time did the volts light come on. I revved the car and the light went right back out and never came on again.

 

[Kaiboy808]

Replace the belt tensioner, it should be replaced with every belt replacement (Which on modern cars occurs around the 50 to 60K mark). It's also a good idea to replace the idler pulley as well, they are dirt cheap and usually replaced at no extra charge when you replace the belt.

Also spray some belt dressing on both sides of the belt for extra traction if you bought a cheap belt (Like a Drive Right $10 to $18 belt versus a Dayco $35 belt, the design differences are astounding).

Belt noise can be caused by many things, worn idler pulleys, worn out belt tensioners, alternator/power steering/air conditioning compressor/water pump bearings siezing up. Whenever I have a belt off, I always spin the pulleys and see if there is any resistance or noise.
[/b]

Yea, my 97 Exploder had pulley problems like crazy!! Eventually I figured out which were bad by taking a flathead and putting it on the pulley to feel vibration while the truck was running. My idler pulley sounded horrible when it went bad but it was only 18 bucks, and was a easy fix with a breaker bar and deep socket.