Auxillary Belt Tensioner Failure

[hagis]

I took my 1.9TDi 100 out this morning and after a mile the battery light came on and I lost the power assisted steering.

When I took it home I popped the bonnet and found that auxillary belt had absolutely no tension in it and was hanging loose. What I guess is the tensioner wheel is loose.

The car had it's cam belt, aux and air con belts replaced by a local specialist a few months back and has done 5k since then and is still in warranty. The garage is closed Saturdays so I can't speak to them until Monday.

- I appreciate that the forum members have only got my description to go off, but does it just sound like the tensioner hasn't been tightened properly?

- If so, is this just a case of it being tightened? The belt is intact and the engine runs without any problems.

- If it does need tightening, is it a simple job for the garage or does the bumper and radiator need to come off?


Any answers would be greatly appreciated, not having my car makes it very difficult for me to get to work and drop my daughter off for baby sitting.

[hagis]

Any suggestions?

[nevo]

The tensioner is spring loaded so if its done 5k since it was done and the belts intact somethings gone on the spring maybe it can be done with the rad etc in situ so try putting a slim spanner down on the two flat areas on the tensioner and see if theres any tension.

[hagis]

Thanks Nevo. The car is due to go back to the garage tomorrow morning, I'll have a look at it again when I get home later on.

I guess that if the spring has gone then it's a new tensioner?

[nevo]

I would say yes ,but get them to check the other pulleys,crankshaft, alternator etc and condition of the underside of the belt, the tensioner requires quite a bit of force to back it off so somethings gone awry.

[hagis]

Thanks, I'll post how I get on tomorrow.

[Crasher]

The alternator one way clutch has failed.

[Brie]

Sounds similar to the problem I'm having now on my Passat TDI B5.
What did you end up having fixed on it then?