One in a million??

[bitwrx]

Picture the scene:
Brother in his 205 1.6 GTi rushing home on a sunny August day. Reading to Salisbury in not much time. Car didn't miss a beat.

Stops for a little pre holiday shopping. Comes back to the car. Engine turns but doesn't start.

After a quick tow home we head off to the Alps for a holiday and promptly forget about the car for a few months.
Came to fix it at Christmas. No sparks. Coil ok, distributor triggering ok, must be ign. module - it's broken on every other Peugeot we've had so why not this one, right?

Nope no joy. Went through everything again then gave up.

Brother finally took it down the Garage yesterday - it appears the camshaft is not turning... hence no trigger from the dist. and hence no spark.

Cambelt. Easy.

But Why the f did the cambelt snap when the car came to a halt and why the f did he not hear a really loud clattering when he tried to start the car?

Seriously, has this ever happened before or should i write to the Guiness book of records?

[Steve_D]

It's called 'Sticktion'
'Friction' is the reluctance of something to keep moving.
'Sticktion' is the reluctance of something to get moving from a standstill.

That's why the belt broke when he tried to restart.

Steve

[Avocet]

The biggest load on a cam belt can be when the engine first fires up. Cranking speed is very slow - 10s of RPMs rather than hundreds, let alone thousands! As soon as the engine "catches", the valve train will be accelerated MUCH quicker than anything you could do with the throttle. As for the noise, it can be much less than you think. I didn't hear it when my wife's car snapped it's belt.