You’re cruising down 120 one evening, a smile on your face as you head out of McHenry for an excursion you’ve looked forward to all through the pandemic when your serpentine belt breaks. Now that the coronavirus is fading, it’s time to get out of town. But you don’t go far before you have a problem.

Suddenly, you notice that your dash lights seem as though they’re dimming. Next thing you know, the engine is dying and you’re trying to pull over before you lose the last traces of momentum. 

What is wrong? Why would your car betray you this way? You’re not even out of McHenry and your plans are torpedoed. Then again, that might be a good thing. The alternative is that you’re a couple hundred miles down the road when you notice the problem.

What would cause your car to act this way? Actually, the problem could develop several symptoms, none of them good.

As mentioned above, it turns out that your problem is a broken serpentine belt. The serpentine belt is a critical part of your car.

In years gone by, cars had several ‘V’ belts. A ‘V’ belt was narrower but thicker – about 3/8-inch wide at the outside before tapering down about 3/8 of an inch. They ran the alternator, the cooling fan, the water pump, the AC, the power steering. If one of the belts broke, as long as it didn’t take out one of the other belts in the process, you would lose one or two functions or your vehicle.

With a serpentine belt, all of those parts may be driven by that one serpentine belt. This means that, if the belt is loose or broken, you could lose all of these critical functions under the hood.

What are the signs to look for when you have a problem with your serpentine belt?

• You may hear a screeching noise under the hood. This is a sign that the belt is probably loose or falling apart. If the other problems listed below haven’t started yet, it’s only a matter of time.
• Instead of a screech, you may only hear a periodic squeaking noise. This is generally a predecessor to the screeching. Don’t fix it soon and you’ll hear the screeching or your serpentine belt will break entirely.
• You may start to lose power. This occurs as the serpentine belt stops turning the alternator. Now, the only electrical energy is coming from the battery. But the alternator is not charging the battery so as electrical components use power, they drain the battery. In the scenario above, the battery is drained and you’re pulling over to the side of the road.
• About this time, you may see the battery light come on in your dashboard. This is not a light you want to ignore. It’s telling you that you’re losing electrical power and will soon have a dead battery.
• Your engine may start to overheat as the belt is no longer turning the water pump. This means that coolant is no longer flowing through the engine. And, as the power drops, the cooling fan that pulls air through the radiator to carry away heat may stop. In either case, you’re liable to find that you’re car is overheating.
• You may find it’s difficult to steer. The serpentine belt is no longer turning the power steering pump. You suddenly find that it’s difficult to turn the steering wheel.
• The air conditioning may stop working as the compressor pulley is no longer turning. A broken or loose serpentine belt may be to blame again.

The good news is that you don’t have to wait for one or more of these symptoms to appear. You can have your serpentine belt checked for wear and adjustment. Do that and when you do head out of McHenry, your serpentine belt won’t hold you back.