I have a question that I was hoping someone out there may have an answer to.

I own a 92 explorer with about 128k miles on it.
Today I was driving and when I pulled up to a set of lights, an ear splitting screeching noise started coming from the engine compartment. I could also smell what smelled like burning rubber. So I pulled over and looked under the hood. I could not see anything wrong, I am not at all mechanical so all that means is that there was nothing obvious I could see So I got back on the road to head home and the screeching continued for another minute or so and then stopped, the smell also slowly went away. Something I also noticed (don't know if it is related) was that the battery light was on on the dash and the reading for the battery showed it to be low, this was the first time I noticed it and I usually always keep a good eye on the dash so I think it happened around the same time as the noise started.

I would appreciate any ideas as to what this may be as I am sure there are a lot of people out there with good knowledge of this sort of thing.

Thanks,
Mark.

 

Have you ever had that belt changed? Also check that pulley ( not sure what it's call) that takes up the slack on the belt and keeps it tight. It would be rare that the pulley would go bad but it won't hurt to take a look. I don't think that the alternator would make a sound or not but anything is possible. My best guess is that the belt is loose enough where it does not keep the alternator turning to keep the battery charged and electricity flowing in the car. MIght be a wild guess but that's where I would start.

M40

 

One more piece to the puzzle. I tried to drive it to school tonight and noticed that the screech was back and that the power steering was completely gone. Does this narrow it down any more?

Thanks,
Mark.

 

Take the belt off, and spin all the pulleys. Sounds like you have a seized (or soon to be seized) pulley. It's probably either the PS pulley, idler pulley, or tensioner pulley. I doubt if it would be fan or alt pulley. Let us know.

Mike

 

Ok so I had a chance to look at it a bit closer and after marking the alternator at the point where it spins as the belt goes over it, I started it up and (with fingers in ears!) watched the belt. The alternator is not spinning at all, the mark stayed in the exact same position. So I'm guessing then that the alternator has seized and needs to be replaced. As I said before, I am not at all mechanically minded so I will have to get it fixed in a shop. What would you expect to pay (parts and labor) to get it fixed?

Thanks for all the help and suggestions,
Mark.