My friend drives a 5th gen EX automatic, and for a week or so we've been getting little random wiffs of hot rubber, but no idea where it's really coming from. Just yesterday, his battery light came on, and he had driven it a little bit but maybe not enough to tell if the battery was still charging. (hopefully he made it to work this morning!) I had looked at his belt already, and it's fine. It doesn't even squeal at all. Strangely, he also lost his power steering, although that's not making any noise either. I want to look at it better today in the daylight, but I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions as to what might be causing this. I can't imagine how the two issues would be related, but they happened at or damn near the same time.

 

no ideas?

 

power steering fluid?

 

definitely something I plan to check, but it'd be whining if it was low, wouldn't it? also doesn't mean anything to the battery light. then again, I can't say for a fact the two are related, but if not it's pretty uncanny that they would happen at the same time.

no CEL, by the way. should it throw some kind of code for the power steering?


Modified by GetCaughtDead at 3:24 PM 9/14/2006

 

Ok, just because the belt isn't sqeeling, it doesn't mean it isn't slipping. check the tension on both belts. And sometimes when the alternator is going bad, it tightens up. If hte battery light is comming on, while you are smelling the burnt rubber, I can almost bet it's the belt. Pull the belt off hte alt. and spin the alt. pulley. If it feels tight, there's your problem.

 

good info, thanks! if it matters, I believe the battery light stays on, and we only intermittantly catch a little bit of the rubber smell.

 

any other ideas? is there maybe some electrical problem that could link the battery light to a loss of power steering?