Hi, after about 150k I'm stuck on the road. Here's what happened: road trip to Maine. After arriving nicely, the A/C gave out, and a bad noise started in the vicinity of the power steering pump. Then on the trip back, and stopping for lunch, the car started up, made a squealing 'fan belt' noise, ran roughly, seemed to struggle to idle, then died. Tried a jump, tried a AAA booster jump several times, as cranking got weaker and weaker. Now won't crank. It makes a click, and soft hiss noise. Battery OK. Has been towed to garage where "who knows", will be diagnosing an out of state vehicle.
What to you suspect? Is the engine seized and dead for good? Can accessories on the serp belt prevent cranking? Starter motor?
More background: the alt is orginial(?) 249K, the a/c compressor was working with clutch 'bread clips' installed -inspection shows really wide gap (2-3mm) and askew, as if separated. the noise sounded higher up as if from steering pump pulley. It was a mild grindy noise and improved slightly when warmer. I keep up with maintenance and timing belt done recently. Oil good and changed recently.
THANKS!!!

It's been 4 days. Did the starter motor die? If the AC compressor fails to engage and one of the bread clips fell out, that would explain the AC problem. The belt noise could be most anything, but you cannot find out until the engine is running.

Or, perhaps the starter solenoid did not retract the pinion from the flywheel when you were trying to start it????
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Keeping it running is better than buying new

so far Herb is the winner. Belt off it starts and runs, ac compressor seized (which I had more than a slight suspicion of since the clutch gap was very wide and askew) We'll see what happens next. That neighborhood is super busy for car repairs. Thanks all

Remove the serpentine drive belt and turn each of the pulleys that are driven by the belt. It could be the case that your ac compressor has seized or your alternator is shot. I'd be very skeptical of a starter problem. Charge the battery before proceeding with any diagnostics (better yet, have them load test it).

Post back. Good luck!

I wonder if the S belt can get the cogs sheared off and fail without snapping?
I'd make sure that the belt is turning.

Hopefully it was just an accessory that seized - maybe the PS pump?

Did the overheat while this was going on? If no, I doubt there is engine damage. But kind of a tough call at this point.

Sounds like the Serpentine belt snapped, and that is not a big deal to fix.

Bill

belt appears in tact and no overheat -I was checking since AC was out

When was the timing belt last done?

Timing belt was recent within 10k mi. Dudes at VIP auto in Maine are saying starter motor so we'll see I guess. It explains the no cranking (?) but still wondering why it ran so rough before dying, and fearful of other issues. Any other thoughts welcome.

Any news? I'm stumped.
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I'm stuck on Volvo and Volvo's stuck on me....when it comes to FWD I always listen to the "Oracle of Minnesota'

I'm skeptical about the starter too. Why would the starter have been making noise when the car was running?

I wonder what kind of shape the alternator is in.