Talk:Serpentine belt

broken belt symptoms
it says: Additionally, it is easier for the driver to know when the belt has broken, since this will cause the steering resistance to suddenly increase. this should be sourced, if someone could please provide a reference or include more information? thanks! in addition this actually happened to me. so i'm convinced that it's at least true. adding citeneeded purpleidea (talk) 03:33, 12 March 2008 (UTC)

I added it to say cars with hydraulic power steering. But the whole contrast part is somewhat silly. A single belt has drawbacks just like multiple belts.

I don't think the "the driver won't notice" part serves any significant purpose either. There are warning lights on almost every car that lights up when a belt breaks (even my old 1990 Eagle Talon does). Sensors notice when a device (such as power steering) stops turning and the associated light comes on in the dash. So you're not any safer. Also many European cars (and other small ones) don't have hydraulically assisted steering, and any car with electric steering won't be affected either.hi

Lastly, I don't think this needs citing. It's a well-known fact that if a power-steering pump isn't turning it isn't assisting the steering, and the steering effort increases. --Novous (talk) 22:58, 15 June 2008 (UTC) Agreed! My belt just broke yesterday and the power-steering went out immediately. --159.140.254.10 (talk) 13:23, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

My immediate reaction after reading this: "if a single belt breaks, such as the alternator belt, the driver may not realize that there is a problem before the engine becomes damaged." This particular instance is not really a good example since a broken alternator belt will NOT damage the engine, merely drain the battery (by no longer charging it). You will not be able to start the engine with a dead battery unless you are fortunate enough to have a manual (vs automatic) transmission, and can either roll down a hill or have a few friends push the car to a slow speed, engage the clutch, and start the engine by manually rotatiing it (via the clutch connection) with the driving wheels. I have had occasions where I suspected the battery to be old and unreliable, and have parked the vehicle on a downward slope "just in case". Upon returning awhile later and not being able to crank the engine (due presumably to a "dead" battery), I released the hand-brake, began rolling down the hill (in first (or second) gear), released the clutch pedal while turning the ignition key all the way to "start", and the motor started right up allowing me to get home.

One last comment: I also had the appearance of no engine start due to a dead battery, but after disconnecting the battery cables and cleaning the battery posts and inside of the cable connectors, then reconnecting the cables and tightening, the car started right up! So dirty or corroded battery connections can also give the appearance of a dead battery.

One final comment arrived at after reading my own post: Although a broken belt no longer driving the alternator will not cause engine damage, if it is a serpentine belt driving other peripheral devices, those other peripheral devices may be important enough that if they no longer work there may be engine damage - I can't think of an example off hand but don't want to categorically deny their possibility. 72.73.202.225 (talk) 21:23, 19 August 2008 (UTC)


 * The belt also drives the water pump. And this gone dead will certainly damage your engine! Badly.
 * Furthermore, modern power steering systems will reduce the force needed to steer more when going slowly and less when going faster. The effect is that parallel parking is easily accomplisehd but your car won't go off the road at high speed if you sneeze and yank the wheel. That means that you won't feel any effect of a broken belt from a certain speed on.
 * 'A serpentine belt also is much easier to [...] replace'. I guess you've never watched it being done! Of course, the engine compartments in modern cars are much more crammed than those say 20 years ago. But, compared to a simple belt which you just slide over two pullies and tighten, you need to have a schematic to fix a serpentine belt properly. You also need to get quite a lot of stuff - like the radiator fan - out of the way to reach it and to put it back in place.
 * Another drawback is that a serpentine belt cannot be replaced by anything makeshift like the classical nylon pantyhose which can replace a simple belt for a while. Roadside assistance service won't also be able to help you on the spot with a serpentine belt.
 * And finally, talking about warning lights: I own a 1955 Volvo. Even that one has a little red light that comes on should the belt driving the alternator break. MichaelXXLF (talk) 13:16, 11 June 2009 (UTC)

Does Serpentine belt only being used in car engines?

No...... Not quite right.

When my serpentine belt broke no warning lights came on at all because the alternator wasn't working. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.87.90.43 (talk) 22:10, 19 April 2016 (UTC)

more efficient
regarding efficiency, I think a major part of the reason the serpentine is more efficient is because it is thinner. There is less hysteresis/scrubbing loss with the serpentine belt as it flexes around the pulleys, not necessarily "slippage", as would typically be associated with a loose belt. dcb 6/11/09 i cant find any information on the belt drive

Mispronouncing
Mispronouncing as "subroutine belt" is amusing the first couple times at least. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 199.172.169.97 (talk) 19:50, 1 August 2012 (UTC)

loose belt
Serpentine fan belts also seem more prone to getting loose, coming off the pulleys -- a serious problem with this design.-96.233.19.113 (talk) 22:29, 7 July 2013 (UTC)

colloquial
In the UK, no-one calls this a serpentine belt. It's know as "Alternator Belt" or simply as "drive belt". Years ago it was called fan belt and that phrase stuck even after mechanical fans were long gone. Not sure about other English speaking countries, but serpentine seems to be very much a USA thing. — Preceding unsigned comment added by CarbonPepper (talk • contribs) 14:44, 8 June 2020 (UTC)


 * In Australia we either call it an accessory belt. Drive belt is more common but alternator belt is also somewhat common too. 27.32.122.117 (talk) 13:43, 23 January 2024 (UTC)