Hi All-

On my way home from work Friday, I noticed the a/c dropped to about half power (was on high speed) and then my battery light came on. Of course I said the obligatory "Oh SHIT!!" and started looking for a place to pull over. I was on the interstate, so I had to drive another 1/2 mile or so before I could even get to a shoulder. By then, there was white smoke billowing out of both rear vents and the temp guage had started to rise. Oh- and the power steering was out.

Opened the engine compartment up to a big mess of coolant all over and lots of steam. Another "Oh Shit" followed by more cussing. The problem was pretty obvious - a belt was off and frayed pretty badly which connected three pulleys (I think the alternator / ac compressor / and the water pump maybe(??)) 

Any ideas on what would cause this? I'm thinking that since the belt didn't actually break, one of the components siezed. Not sure which one, but I have a feeling maybe it's the water pump. It was just weird that it happened so fast - no noises or warning signs - just a/c lost some power and the battery light came on :(

thanks,

Scott