On my 2003 Accord EX 4 cylinder the new Honda accessory belt slipped for a few seconds and the battery light came on and power steering stopped working as I was pulling up to the gas pump in wet pre snow conditions. This has never happened before and is it just a Fluke?

 

Hi Chris..if it does it again, it's no fluke..Check your Belt Tensioner..

WheelBrokerAng

 

Any guess where in the dealership parts System\Component menu it is listed?

 

It's called "engine mounting bracket". What were they smoking when they made up that name??

 

I appreciate the help and ordered the Belt Tensioner from the local dealer as I can’t take a chance on it happening when my wife is driving to work.

 

I would also check the belt and replace if necessary. What's the rule of thumb? More than 3 cracks in a 1" section, replace? Better safe than sorry and belts are relatively cheap.

 

Belt is an OEM honda with 3,000 miles but I will look it over also.

 

There's a little pointer or something cast into the tensioner around where it pivots. If the pointer is outside the range of where it belongs, that means the belt is stretched.

Got an oil leak anywhere that's getting on the belt?

Maybe the spring inside the tensioner has gone weak - you can compare old vs. new when you get the new one.

And... check for all the OTHER pulleys driven by this belt. If the idler or maybe the waterpump has developed way too much drag, the alternator is where you'll notice the consequences.

 

The range on the tensioner looks like a sideways L which is the max? I have no oil leaks but the tensioner looks pretty bad with rust and grooves worn into the machined part for the belt to ride on.

 

IIRC there's a little mark on the moving part that lines up along that "L". When that little mark moves outside of the "L", then the belt has stretched too much.

There may be a picture of the mark somewhere in the owners manual.

Rust & grooves sound like a good excuse to buy a new tensioner. The belt on my 2003 never stretched, but it got tiny little surface cracks - so I figured the rubber was getting hard & slippery. And the tensioner pulley bearing got loose & wobbly. Never had to replace the tensioner arm tho...