Engine Barley Cranks After Replacing Serpentine Belt

[I Am Legend]

2000 ASTRO AWD v6

I noticed the serp belt slipped off the motor so i went ahead and replaced it
Upon replacing the belt i went ahead and cranked the motor
The engine barely wanted to crank so i looked at the battery
It was 10 volts so i went ahead grabbed the cables and jumped it
still barley cranked i also sensed smoke and smelled like something was burning up

Right before i changed the belt i started it and moved it 10 feet all was good
started like a charm till the new belt was on

Possibly the starter?

[Astro Pop]

Disconnect anything when replacing battery?

[Mmusicman]

If engine "barely cranks after replacing serpentine belt".. I'd try a different belt.

[Zebediah III]

The parts guy probably handed you a 10 volt belt instead of one for the 12 volt system

[Big_kid]

/sarcasm

Take the belt off, then start it briefly. Does it start normally now? Check for seized idlers or accessories (engine and belt off).
Check cable connections and grounds, and the cables themselves.

[Mmusicman]

Check for seized idlers or accessories (engine and belt off)

^^ This.

The "smoke you smelled" could have been the jumper cables themselves.. the battery connections... the belt burning on a seized pulley... a bad accy... a bad alternator... a bad starter.. a bad starter connection. Don't make assumptions.

But there MUST be more to this story!
Why were you changing the belt in the first place?

The engine barely wanted to crank so i looked at the battery
It was 10 volts so i went ahead grabbed the cables and jumped it
still barley cranked i also sensed smoke and smelled like something was burning up
Possibly the starter?

You're ALL over the place! (reminds me of my old Chevelle)

You have possible NUMEROUS problems!

* Dead (or weak) battery
* Need to jump start
* Serpentine belt came off (possible accy seisure)
* What caused battery to go dead?

Your conclusion... blame the starter??? LOL

Charge the battery FIRST! Be sure it is good, has good cranking power, and able to hold a charge. Poor connections can cause charging and/or starting issues. This MUST be your first fix!

Next, you may have a seized pulley or accy. This could cause the engine to "throw" off the belt.
You may have a seized or bad alternator, which "could" explain the low battery and thrown belt.

1) Charge battery and be sure it is working properly. Check connections.
2) Start vehicle and see what happens. If it cranks hard go to next step...
3) Start vehicle with belt off. Does it crank easier? If so, go to next step...
4) Spin pulleys and accy's.. check for seized device.

Your post suggests that their is an issue "related" to the belt. These would be the logical steps...

[sixsix]

This is a sad thread in sooo many ways.

The "Barley" Reference was funny though.



Mike

[Big_kid]

No need to hop to conclusions. Lets give the OP a chance to perform some diagnosis so we can see what's brewing. Things will come to a head soon enough, then we'll find out what ales his van.

[Bikley]

Back in my Chevelle days, aside from regular maintenance, all I ever had to do was gap the points and tweak the mixture screws and it was golden again.

That aside, you need to start with the battery. Everything revolves around having a full 12.6 -/+ voltage from the battery.

The battery contains 6 2.1v cells so whenever I see "only 10 volts" 9 times out of 10 it's a shorted cell in the battery. Jump starting doesn't work because even though you are putting in 14v or so volts from the other car, you are still only charging the 5 good cells and getting 10v out.

[90safari]

No need to hop to conclusions. Lets give the OP a chance to perform some diagnosis so we can see what's brewing. Things will come to a head soon enough, then we'll find out what ales his van.

You're giving Mike some competition with all the grains you've mentioned. Nice job working it out.

[multimoto]

sounds like one of those legendary installer errors to me but whatever casued the belt to slip off the motor (whatever that actually means) could have something to do with it also I suppose.

odds are this is one of those one post wonders as well lol

[TurnNburn]

No need to hop to conclusions. Lets give the OP a chance to perform some diagnosis so we can see what's brewing. Things will come to a head soon enough, then we'll find out what ales his van.

You're giving Mike some competition with all the grains you've mentioned. Nice job working it out.