Does the belt that charges the battery and runs the power stering have anything to do with the A/C as well?

2000 CADILLAC ELDORADO

79,000 MILES • V8 • FWD • AUTOMATIC

GLAKKEN13

MEMBER
33 POSTS

A/C stopped working a while back... was told I needed a new compressor and some other parts to fix it. Meanwhile my car which usually runs very quiet and smooth began running rough and made a terrible scraping noise when I started it but this dissipated after a few moments. I recently started my car and it gave me a message that the charging system needs servicing... I checked under the hood and saw that the belt on the power steering side was loose. I pulled on it and it came off... it was broken in half. Now the car sounds perfect but my battery is not being charge and I have no power steering. Obviously this belt does more than that. I assume it is the alternator belt too. Can someone explain all of this to me. Thanks in advance!!

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Sep 11, 2011 at 7:41 PM

PROMECHANIC

✓ASE Certified Mechanic
536 POSTS

Yes, this belt has everything to do with the AC. The belt turns the AC compressor. The first thing to do is replace the belt. Then see if everything works again.
It is possible that your AC compressor is bad and that caused the belt to fail. One way you can check this is to try to turn the AC compressor pulley and see if it turns. If it turns easily then it probably didn't cause the belt to fail.

Sep 11, 2011 at 7:50 PM

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