Some belt has shredded ... HELP!

Please, if anyone knows the answer on this one ... I own a 456 and started it up this morning. I heard some belt noise, and smelled the buring of rubber (I just had a major service this year, 1000 miles ago). I quickly turned off the car (irt seemed like both banks of cylinders were running). When I looked under the car, there were belt fragments on the ground, clearly melted ... I think they came out of the "front" belt casing - there is an opening in the bottom (if I am not mistaken, this is not the major cam belt, correct? So, what could have caused this? Is my alternator/AC unit, etc., probably seized? Can I start the car to get it on a transport? You all have been very helpful here and I REALLY APPRECIATE IT!!!

 

If the motor runs Ok .... then it's most likely not the cam belts. I'd assume it's the alt/air cond/water pump belt ... which is an easy and cheap fix. If it's completely broken or has slipped off the pullys then your Alternator light should come on with the motor running. If it's just slipping then maybe not. Your factory tool kit should have a replacement belt in it ...... and this is something you could do yourself. What's unknown is the reason it failed, which could be a frozen alt/water pump or air cond. compressor. You could compare the replacement belt in your tool kit to the bits you found on the ground to confirm it's this belt ..... If you decide to flatbed the car to a repair shop ... I wouldn't be too concerned about running the car at low RPM's for a few minutes to get it on the tow truck ... that is, assuming the motor sounds like it's running correctly. If you suspect it's a cam belt ... best not to run the engine again until it's fixed.