TCS and Breakdown (But not from TCS)

[Saaby]

So we're having one of the worst snowstorms of the year. Not terribly heavy snow, but enough to make the roads really slick, and visibility is 0. I leave the house to go to school, and I can't even get up the road. The stupid TCS is rearing it's ugly head. Every time I go to go, I slip a little, TCS-mom kicks in and makes it impossible for me to move. It really is almost hilarious! I'm just sitting there fighting with the car. I also probably wore half the tread off my tyres, but we're not going to talk about that.

So after about 30 seconds of this I decide to take a different approach. See I had been coming to total stop, with the clutch out, and then I would try to get going again. Well I jut let off the gas, but left the clutch in. The car crawls, and I mean crawls forward, but doesn't kill. I ever-so-ever gently increase the gas, and finally I get moving. Huzzah!

So I'm well on my way, and the TCS hasn't kicked into limp-mode after all this excessive operation or anything, and I think I'm good and fine and that I'll make it to school just fine. Well a few miles away (about 4 miles into the 8 mile trip) the battery light came on. I switched the DIC over to the volt display, and I was still at like 11.2, which is typical for my car, so I didn't start to worry too much. Family has owned at least 2 other cars with phantom battery lights, so I guess I'm just pre-programmed to ignore that one.


So I get to a light maybe 1/4 of a mile later, and I'm first at the light, and I am watching the volt level. It's dropping, but not dangerously fast or anything. I'm not far from school, and I know that when your alternator dies you can still go for awhile on the starter battery. I have all the power accessories shut off and I'm trying to decide if I want to pull over and call for a rescue, or limp to school and just be stranded at the end of the night.

Right then I get the brilliant (inspired actually, not my brilliance) idea to turn my wheel and...it's super hard to turn. Ah. I know what this is, serpentine problem.

So the light turns green and I pull into a parking lot, open the bonnet, and sure enough, belt isn't spinning at all.

Car will be towed to the local Saab guy tomorrow. If I had more time, and if it wasn't 30º out, I might get adventurous and try to fix it myself, but this guy is pretty good, so I'll let him take care of it. Besides that, it will give him a chance to look over the car and do the pre-sale type-inspection that I should have had done on it in the first place, so I at least have a better idea of the overall health of the car.

Anybody care to speculate with me what the problem will be? In the service records I swear I saw some paperwork for the pulley, so I think that's been replaced once, but I don't know when, I'll have to go look. The belt had a little shred missing out of it, but I pulled on it (After I turned the engine off) and it wouldn't come loose. It did, however, have some play in it. This makes me think maybe it really was a pulley, since the belt doesn't appear to have completely broke (Though, like I said, it is damaged), but, if it was something else that seized up, I am thinking there still would have been a lot of tension on the belt, instead of having play in it.

Guess I'll find out tomorrow!

[MoreBoost]

Yes you will, lol, changing the belt isnt hard at all, first time i did it took me about an hour and half for the full job, theres a full write up on quasimotors but it would probably be near impossible in the freezing weather, its so cold here in NJ 2, i tired to work on my car the other day but my hands went numb lol

Imran

[Saaby]

Just got off the phone with the shoppe.

Pulley!

Thank goodness. I was terrified that it would be an AC Compressor or something.

He said other than that the car is looking healthy. Clutch is releasing a little high, likely my crappy driving is making that worse than it already was. A little exhaust leak, and a little noise from the valve train, and other than that we're happy as a lark.