Weird voltmeter & power steering issue

Noticed this happen a couple times recently. Start the jeep, go to back out of a parking space and I can barely move the steering wheel. Looked down and saw my voltmeter is at zero. Give it some gas and it finally picks up and the power steering starts to work.

I'm guessing that I simply need to check the tension on the belt...but could it be something else? I don't have a belt tensioner handy, any other way I can do this?

Next time it happens, throw it in park and take a look before you hit the gas... figure out what's spinning and what isn't. I'd expect a lot of squealing if that was the belt unless it is EXTREMELY loose, maybe the harmonic balancer has worn out so badly that the inside is spinning and the outside isn't or something?

Voltmeter should be a 12, or at least above 9, if the engine is running at all. Rather strange.

ok. hmm. Yeah I'd think I'd get some squealing but I'm not. I wonder if something is seizing up but it doesn't make sense. I'm sending the jeep in the shop on Tuesday but heading up to NH tonight to go skiing for the weekend. Just want to make sure I'm not getting ripped off when it goes into the shop


I should note that it only really happens when it has recently snowed or rained.

It's the big pulley on the crankshaft that spins the serpentine belt. It's got 3 parts, an inner hub, a rubber damper, and an outer rim - it's really just a padded pulley. The rubber smooths out the vibrations from the crankshaft before applying the force to the belt.

Odd ball problem, but bad engine mount plate/busted bolts allows the manifolds to rest on the steering shaft--when you rev up the engine it lifts off the shaft and you get your steering back--worth a look. This is the plate that is bolted to the engine block, and that the motor mount attaches to with the horizontal through-bolt.

As Kastein posted, pull the belt and check the harmonic balancer, accessory pulleys, and idlers by hand for stiffness/bad bearings.

All of the above, and an added note: it took me a little while to figure out why I was getting power-steering "pump catch" on my old 87, because it never squealed. I don't know why, perhaps the pulleys were polished down nicely or something, but when the tension dropped even a little below the correct setting it would dump the steering without a squeak. The Criket II gauge solved my problems in a jiffy.

Belt tension- you'd know if the motor was broken free of the mounts.

edit- Did you change the belt when you put the new head on?