Alternator problems ? Need help

[Bernout]

Hi

I am a new mp3 owner. I really enjoy the car so far but there is a problem.

When I start the car(now winter) it idles fine and makes no noise. Then if I turn the heat on I get a nasty belt/pulley squeel. It also will do it when warming up if I have the lights on for a few minutes. It is really annoying to have this noise.. It will squeel quietly at idle when the heat is on and if I rev it up at all it squeels really loud until it gets past 2500/3000 rpm. The dash lights will also dim during the squeel.

Does this sound like an alternator going bad to anyone? any input is appreciated . I would like to get this fixed asap.

 

[ForBidden]

ither your blower motor is going out our u need to tighten your belt.

 

[Bernout]

Its coming from the engine. its not the blower motor.

not sure if it would be the alternator or belt.

seems when i put a load on the motor electrically(by turning lights or heat on) that it makes the squeel until i rev it up(breaking the pulley loose on the alternator?). Would that be from a belt that needs tightening or from an alternator that is locking up?

 

[loserkidwac]

well it is fairly easy to tighten the belt, first step would be to try adjusting it a little tighter and spraying som "belt dressing" on it, can be had from any auto parts store, also while you are there have them come out and test the alt it is usually free...if you have a multi-meter you can do it at home...first check the battery with the car off, should be around 12-13v and then start the car and check across the terminals again, now you should have a reading of 14-15v if it is lower then the alt is going bad...those numbers are for my Honda but assume they are the same since most cars run off 12v, when its running the alt needs to provide more power to run the car and charge the batter at the same time...HTH Matt

 

[JoeManNorth]

I had that problem.. It seems that the altenators are defective in the way that the pully shaft will bend causing the pully to wiggle hense causing the belt to squeel.. tightning it wont really help in this case. My pully got so bent out of shape it actualy jambed and i burnt the belt off. I'm sure high revs dont help the issue.

The altenator will power fine that's what is confusing. never use Belt dressing... masking a problem doesnt actualy fix it.

All this could also be bulls*** fed to me by the dealer. That is why I now have a 1 year warrenty on my altenator and I plan to change it every year for the same issue... a hammer should help if it hasnt gone bad before the warrenty is up.

 

[mpvpsu]

I've been having the same issue with my 01 LX, I put an upgraded Alt in and changed the belts, but still have the problem. Does anyone think the shafts could be changed out of a diff car?

 

[Bernout]

im going to try to tighten the belt before i order any parts

 

[JoeManNorth]

Definatly try to tighten the belt.. the freggen thing is expensive (350 CDN).

I asked about simply changing the shaft.. unless you can do it yourself or know a good mechanic no one will.. the labour for changing it would probably bring the price up to about the same thing anyways.

 

[mpvpsu]

Tightening my belts did help for a while, but the squeel did return, and it seems to last longer now. I've done Alt rebuilds before I'll see what the shaft sizing is, there are only a few variations on Atl shafts. But I know the internals out of a B2000 will fint in our Alt casing, I've done this swap. changes the alt output from 80 amps to 130-140 amps. great for anyone running a stereo.

 

[Bernout]

tightening the belt fixed the problem for now....

alternator seems to be in great shape. the pulley spins normal without shake. hopefully the squeek is gone for good.