Could someone clear this up for me regarding how a very cold engine might affect the tension of the belt or the operation of the tensioner and/or the tension warning light switch mechanism.

My timing belt tension light came on twice, both times it was after a very cold night and the car not being driven for over 24 hours.
The first time I was just a few hundred yards from home so I immediately turned around and in first gear I drove back to my driveway with my hand on the key with hopes that if anything started to happen I could kill the ignition and push in the clutch in time to save the engine....don't know if it would have worked but I was worried1
So I made it home safe, parked it and tore into the passenger side cover the next day expecting to find the belt loose. Well the tool showed it to be just inside the 'window' on the tight side.

I put the cover back on and fired it up...no problems and no sign of a warning light either.
Now about ten days later we had another very cold night combined with me not driving the car for over 24 hours and the light came on again right after i left home. So this time I waited until I was about two miles down the road after the light came on figuring the car was sufficiently warmed up at that point ( I don't let it idle much to warm up in the morning I just go real slow and easy for a mile or so), I turned off the ignition and restarted the car. Well, no light came on and it drove fine the rest of the day.

So I have a couple of questions. How does the cold engine come into play with the tension light coming on?
If there really was a problem with the belt being too loose wouldn't the warning light come back on after I restarted the engine?

According to the previous owner and the reciepts he gave me the water pump, belt and related tensioner parts were all replaced in 2000 when the car had approximately 73000 miles on it. Then the tension was checked a couple thousand miles later. The new belt, pump etc. now have around 10000 miles on them.

Any and all help is most appreciated!

 

Turning the ignition off and restarting resets the failure brain..............I had same issue; the belt was loose, retention to spec and never seen a tbelt warning since. Time is an enemy of the belt also, 6 years now in your case.

 

Except it was checked and found to be tight just 10 days ago the first time the light came on...and wouldn't the light continue to come on if it was really loose?

 

More than one thread going with similar speculation, and no conclusion.

What would concern me is that the sensor needs 3 minutes of thinking it sees a problem, and that doesn't provide me with a secure feeling.

Put a small heater on a timer and let it warm the front of the car half a hour before its driven.

 

I had a similar problem earlier this year. Last winter I re-tentioned the belt when it was about 30F in the garage because it was time to do it. When the weather warmed up, I had the warning light come on so I checked the tension and it was just below the min so I re-tentioned again when it was around 90F outside in the parking lot where the light came on. I checked it again recently when it got cold and the tention was slightly high so I'm guessing it should be tentioned when it's about 70F so it doesn't get out of the range.

 

Not trying to cause a panic, but that's what happened to me before my belt failure. I had a bent tensioner arm bolt. When I tightened the belt...it bent more...another warning light....re-tension....uh-oh.