| Author | Message | ||
     James (Jimbo) New Member Username: Jimbo Post Number: 4 Registered: 10-2002 |
I have a problem where my tach is dead when the engine is cold. When it starts to warm, I hear what sounds like belt squeal. Then when the squealing stops, the tach works fine. If I turn on a lot of electrical items, it will squeal again and the tach dies. The belt looks good, battery is just hitting two years old and takes a full charge, and the alternator was replaced about a year ago, by the previous owner. The tension on the belt seems O.K. I tried cleaning the pulleys and the belt with isopropyl alcohol, works great on cleaning wiper blades by the way, to no avail. Is the belt tension adjustable, since I feel that from the described symptoms it is just "a little" loose? Has the tensioner gone bad? Is there a way to test it? Or is it the dreaded alternator slowly dying that I hear so much about? Oh, I have a 95' Disco with 94,000 miles. | ||
| Kyle Van Tassel (Kyle) Moderator Username: Kyle Post Number: 51 Registered: 11-2002 |
Alternator issues... Kyle "Blow me" | ||
| john vigg (Johnvigg) Member Username: Johnvigg Post Number: 41 Registered: 11-2002 |
check your belt routing, it will look corect, but not be, | ||
| Jason T. Barker (Speedminded) Member Username: Speedminded Post Number: 93 Registered: 10-2002 |
Did the problem continue right after you cleaned the belts, any fluid leaks...? I had a small hole in a powersteering hose once and the fluid caused my belts to slip resulting in the tach not working until reaching a certain rpm. I called the dealer and they wanted $60 for the 11" hose, I took it to a local shop and they made me one capable of 1100psi for $23. | ||
| Aaron Poster (Aaron) New Member Username: Aaron Post Number: 3 Registered: 02-2003 |
I just had that same problem too. The belt slips when its cold and as it heats up and starts to catch then it works. Sounds like your belt is loose or routed wrong. | ||
| James (Jimbo) New Member Username: Jimbo Post Number: 5 Registered: 10-2002 |
I'm hoping it's the belt for obvious reasons of cost, but wasn't sure if it's a failing alternator. It squealed well before I cleaned it, but cleaning it didn't help. I was wondering if it's possible to put a little more tension on the belt, if it's slipping, so I can truely rule it out as the problem. Anyone know a good test for the alternator output? I'll check the routing again also. Thanks. | ||
| gp (Garrett) Senior Member Username: Garrett Post Number: 1882 Registered: 10-2001 |
do check the routing. these damn things can go on more than one way. tension should be somewhat obvious if you have even checked it before. if you go with a new alt get your existing one rebuilt or buy a rebuild. don't buy a new one from the dealer. belt dressing in my opinion is pointless. if you are using it just spend the $25 on a new belt. | ||
| James (Jimbo) New Member Username: Jimbo Post Number: 6 Registered: 10-2002 |
The belt tension feels pretty good, but since this only happens when it's cold was wondering if I could dial in a bit more tension, if it's possible, to see if it would help. Is the tension on these 3.9L automatic? If so, could it be sticking just that little bit when cold? I agree, belt dressings are garbage. Been there before ages ago. | ||
| Leslie N. Bright (Leslie) Senior Member Username: Leslie Post Number: 1823 Registered: 02-2002 |
Here's the routing diagram....  FWIW... -L | ||
| ken nishikawa (Scubaman99) New Member Username: Scubaman99 Post Number: 27 Registered: 06-2002 |
Hey Jimbo the comment "If I turn on a lot of electrical items, it will squeal again and the tach dies" leads me to believe that your Alternator is going out... I.E. when you put a load on it... it croaks. my Alternator just went out... for the last couple months my tach has been doing the "bouncing needle" routine AKA it never shows a smooth reading... the needle wouldnt show an exact reading but rather it would jitter around where the engine RPMs should be... then saturday morning i decided to clean out my engine compartment (i had been wheeling in the mud and the engine bay was a nice shade of brown). after hoseing the entire compartment really good, i fired up my rig... upon starting the tach jumped up then went to zero... so i pulled the alternator out (a pretty easy job!!) took it down to my local REBUILDER (AKA the shop where retailers get their rebuilt parts from) and he tested it. and sure enough it was bad as a comparison (Kragens wanted $220, Local import shop wanted $225 and Pepboys wanted $330)... my rebuilder gave me an over the counter exchange with a 1yr warranty for $128. took it home and within 15min my rig and tach were running smooth.... KEN | ||
| James (Jimbo) New Member Username: Jimbo Post Number: 7 Registered: 10-2002 |
Sorry for the late reply, work gets in the way of me working on my Rover! John, Leslie, and Garrett hit it on the nose. The mechanic who installed the belt, probably when the alternator and water pump were replaced by the previous owner, put the belt on wrong! Without a shop manual, I took that one for granted as being done right. They had the belt cutting across the top from one side of the engine to the other so that very little contact area was on the alternator pulley! Luckily the rotation of all the components was still correct. I then did a quick re-routing of the belt and problem solved! Thanks everyone! | ||
| gp (Garrett) Senior Member Username: Garrett Post Number: 1903 Registered: 10-2001 |
yep. instead of the belt going DOWN it just skims across the top of the pully. not enough friction there to sping the pully consistently. glad you got it rerouted before you went and spent some money on a new alt. |
