Just wanted to know what the component was next to what i think is the alternator, that has a belt running around it. The belt has cut into the plastic cover and is just about to snap. Also there looks to be a pulley wheel at the bottom part of the belt that is sitting at an angle, which i presume is why the belt has cut into the cover. There was a bad squealing just before i switched it off. It is an x-reg wrx impreza wagon. Thanks

How long does it run? Sure you only changed the serpentine belt? The car would actual even run without the serpentine (or also called accessory belt) since the belt only drives fairly non essential components (AC compressor, alternator, fan, power steering pump. etc).

the a/c belt is the smal belt that goes to the a/c compressor and you want to know how to cut it , easy just grab a very shar rasor blade , knife or sisors and use then to cut the belt ( not a rocket science )
just take comon sence

shut off engine.when your hood is open,to your left will be the front of the motor.you'll see a black rubber belt,this is called the serpentine belt.it will be approximately an inch n a half wide,smooth on outside edge and ribbed beneath..the top item you'll see powered by the belt is the alternator.if you follow the belt around the back(toward the passenger seat of the car),the next component run by the belt is the power steering pump.it will either have a cap on it or it will have a rubber hose attached to it,running to a plastic container.if there is a cap,twist off the cap and add the power steering fluid to the full line..otherwise,add the fluid to the plastic container in the same manner.

Hopefully this photo will help

It sounds like it to me too. If your car has separate belts on the front and not a serpentine belt, try tightening the belt for the alternator before you buy a new one. Belts stretch over time and need to be adjusted, if there is no adjustment left it is time for a new belt. Also make sure the wires on the back of the alternator are tight and not corroded ( greenish colored). Clean them up with some emery cloth and re attach. Do them one at a time so you don't get mixed up. Hope this helps.

I would have to suspect a bad battery cable or battery cable end or negative battery cable ground.

Many alternators blow the output diodes if the battery is disconnected (or the connection is lost even momentarily) from the system while the engine is running and the alternator is putting out voltage. Check/Replace you battery cables before installing a new alternator for this reason. Cleaning surface corrosion off the terminals is often not sufficient when the corrosion has seeped into the wire under the insulation. Also many overlook the negative battery cable's connection to the frame or engine becuase it is often "out of sight". If your negative battery cable attaches to the frame the problem might also be a ground strap from the engine/trans to the frame. It's failure could isolated the alternator form the battery on many vehicles with the same result.

Another less likely possibilty is insulation worn wire(s) grounding out against a metal part someplace. Look around moving parts and components that have a wiring harness near them. Steering shafts and components. Compressor clutch and belt pulleys. Gas pedal, and throttle cables and linkage including cruise control system.

This could be any number of things, check all of your belts and make sure they are there. Do a visual inspection of the wires under the hood and make sure none look burned. The last thing to check would be the timing belt on the car under the cover behind the rest of the belts. If this has stripped the car could have jumped time and will not let the car run and could cause more damage the more you try to run it.

2006 kia spectra...brake and battery light came on car was still running, it never cut off....what do you think that could be?

Hi megora,

I recently replaced the belts on my 94 Suzuki Escudo. From memory you are right about the alt belt coming of second. I think the other belt runs the power steering and the air con. If you stand in front of the radiator/bumper looking at the firewall ( ie rearwards) and look down behind the rad you will see the two belts. The one on the right is the first to take off for the steering and air con. The top pulley/pump/compressor assembly on the right will move to allow the belt to come off once the adjuster bolts (2) and pivot/mounting bolts (2) are loosened. A 12 mm ring spanner should be suitable for this I think. I remember finding it quite difficult to get into the pivot bolts as they are directly below the pump/compressor so some patience may be required as you try and work past the air filter, steering reservoir and all the other stuff in that right front corner. Make sure you have loosened everything before trying to crank it all over to slacken the belt off. Once this is done the alt belt can be done. I hope this makes sense as sometimes similar vehicles can have different builds and upfits. By the way if anything doesn't seem right stop, look and think about what's connected to what. I would hate to think that any information I gave you turned out to lead you astray. Regards, Brad

adjust ur belt by following steps
now that you know where the components are these components are driven by a belt. So when you turn your AC on there’s a belt that’s driving the AC compressor, when you turn the stirring wheel and you have that nice that easy feel of turning the stirring wheel when you’re parallel parking your car that’s the power stirring pump doing its job. Your alternator is keeping the battery charged, the lights on and the engine running. So I want to show you where the belts are, what they look like, how to adjust them and how to tell a bad belt from a good belt. As you can see these are your drive belts, this is the AC drive belt it drives the AC compressor, this is the alternator drive belt it drives the alternator, if you look down here you can see this is where the adjustment is on that AC compressor belt, if you look right here this is the top adjusting bolt for adjusting the alternator either up or down to tighten or loosen the belt. There’s a bolt down here that locks the alternator in place and this bolt is the pivot bolt for the alternator. So if you’re going to let’s say remove your alternator belt you’d have to remove these covers, loosen this bolt, loosen this bolt that’s underneath this cover and adjust this bolt to either lower the alternator or raise the alternator, if you’re belt was too loose you’ll pull up on the alternator, if the belt was too tight you’ll