Miss Kitae
New member
I have a '98 Mercury Sable, in good working condition and well taken care of. I'm three days late for an oil change, but that's the only "neglect" to the vehicle.
My car stalled out three times today; it would start, run for a few minutes, and then the battery would die. The lights and radio stayed on, but the car stuttered out completely. Whenever this happened the indicator light for the battery blinked on, so I'd play with the connectors and start it up again. After the third time, I gave up and had it towed.
When I got home, I took a brush to the battery connectors to take some of the corrosion off (it worked the last time I had trouble with the car not starting) and cleaned them up. The car started beautifully, but I noticed a smoky, burning smell, so I shut it off and popped the hood.
The belt beside the engine block, near the left-hand side, was giving off a nasty smelling white smoke (really professional sounding, right?) The belt itself is intact, there doesn't look like there's anything missing or damaged.
Can anyone give me an idea as to what could be wrong and what I can do to repair it? I'm calling a mechanic on Monday, but any help is appreciated.
My car stalled out three times today; it would start, run for a few minutes, and then the battery would die. The lights and radio stayed on, but the car stuttered out completely. Whenever this happened the indicator light for the battery blinked on, so I'd play with the connectors and start it up again. After the third time, I gave up and had it towed.
When I got home, I took a brush to the battery connectors to take some of the corrosion off (it worked the last time I had trouble with the car not starting) and cleaned them up. The car started beautifully, but I noticed a smoky, burning smell, so I shut it off and popped the hood.
The belt beside the engine block, near the left-hand side, was giving off a nasty smelling white smoke (really professional sounding, right?) The belt itself is intact, there doesn't look like there's anything missing or damaged.
Can anyone give me an idea as to what could be wrong and what I can do to repair it? I'm calling a mechanic on Monday, but any help is appreciated.