Audi A4 The Audi A4 model offers nimble handling and performance that makes it one of the leading cars in its class. Read more about the Audi A4 in the Audi A4 review.
Sponsored by:
Sponsored by:

Thump, battery light on and total loss of power steering

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
  #11  
Old 12-22-2005, 01:45 PM
GregW's Avatar
1st Gear
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 9
Default RE: Thump, battery light on and total loss of power steering

Thought I'd let everyone know how things turned out yesterday. The good news is that you were all correct in guessing that my problem was related to the Serpentine Belt - again, many thanks for your guidance. Unfortunately the serpentine belt didn't break, it was just hanging there...looking very "out of place". You might ask why the serpentine belt was hanging when it is supposed to be stretched around several pulleys? Well...the pulley on the end of the serpentine tensioner arm blew a gasket, which meant that loose bearings exploded around the general area and something eventually broke the tensioner arm too. I was pretty fortunate that there was no additional damage in the area because the belly pan contained loose bearings and shards of metal from the broken tensioner arm. I followed everyone's advice and decided I should take this opportunity to replace the timing belt, water pump and thermostat too. While this is an unplanned expense, it's the first real money I've had to invest in the car and I've put 72,000 aggressive miles on the vehicle.
 
  #12  
Old 12-22-2005, 02:28 PM
onepoint8tee's Avatar
Site Moderator
Join Date: Sep 2005
Posts: 13,665
Default RE: Thump, battery light on and total loss of power steering


ORIGINAL: GregW

Thought I'd let everyone know how things turned out yesterday. The good news is that you were all correct in guessing that my problem was related to the Serpentine Belt - again, many thanks for your guidance. Unfortunately the serpentine belt didn't break, it was just hanging there...looking very "out of place". You might ask why the serpentine belt was hanging when it is supposed to be stretched around several pulleys? Well...the pulley on the end of the serpentine tensioner arm blew a gasket, which meant that loose bearings exploded around the general area and something eventually broke the tensioner arm too. I was pretty fortunate that there was no additional damage in the area because the belly pan contained loose bearings and shards of metal from the broken tensioner arm. I followed everyone's advice and decided I should take this opportunity to replace the timing belt, water pump and thermostat too. While this is an unplanned expense, it's the first real money I've had to invest in the car and I've put 72,000 aggressive miles on the vehicle.
Glad to hear you got to the bottom of it... Deffinately cant complain about not having to invest in the car until 72,000 aggressive miles.. I didnt know tensioners had gaskets though.. Did you mean a seal??
 
  #13  
Old 12-22-2005, 08:02 PM
Karl's Avatar
Administrator
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Seattle, WA
Posts: 8,981
Default RE: Thump, battery light on and total loss of power steering

wow.. im glad you replaced the timing belt.. otherwise you would have been back in the shop in a few weeks for a lot bigger bill!!
 
  #14  
Old 12-28-2005, 09:07 PM
GregW's Avatar
1st Gear
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 9
Default RE: Thump, battery light on and total loss of power steering

It was a seal, not a gasket. Please forgive the inaccurate description. I'm not a technical person.
 
  #15  
Old 12-28-2005, 10:27 PM
BFlan2001's Avatar
5th Gear
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: South Bay
Posts: 6,508
Default RE: Thump, battery light on and total loss of power steering

you got pretty lucky...it was time to change your timing belt anyway..at least it wasn't your tb tensioner that broke, or you'd have a much bigger bill to deal with
 
  #16  
Old 12-28-2005, 10:41 PM
tealetm's Avatar
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location:
Posts: 172
Default RE: Thump, battery light on and total loss of power steering

You guys are too quick- I was going to say serpentine belt. You're alternator probably wasn't turning hence no charge to your battery and the light came on....
 
  #17  
Old 12-28-2005, 11:23 PM
ckandes1's Avatar
2nd Gear
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Naples, Florida (US)
Posts: 811
Default RE: Thump, battery light on and total loss of power steering

if you dont mind me asking, how much did it all end up costing?
 
Related Topics
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
BlueFunk3
Audi A4
0
02-08-2013 03:54 PM
alex kid
B5 Models
2
10-14-2012 04:25 AM
MartinCieslak1
B5 Models
1
03-01-2010 11:43 PM
Ligist
Audi A6
2
08-08-2008 10:18 PM
GregW
General Tech
0
12-20-2005 10:01 PM



Quick Reply: Thump, battery light on and total loss of power steering



All times are GMT -4. The time now is 05:27 PM.