Along with the engine noise there is also a very high-pitched, not too loud but noticeable whine. Is that my alternator? Check sig for mileage, etc.

 

could it be someone installed a supercharger in your engine when you are not around?

hey, they do know for their girly whining when you "step on it"

okay okay..serious now.

when do you hear the whine? when the car is on? when you step on throttle? is it a belt/rubber whine or sharper metal whine?

 

"could it be someone installed a supercharger in your engine when you are not around?"

I wish ! heh.

iam7head, First off i really appreciate your help in all my posts, thanks a lot. Its a sharp metallic whine, very very high pitched gets louder in accelerating and quieter when engine slows - noise lessens. Its actually kind of hard to notice sometimes but I listen to every little sound my car makes so... I think I have a biased opinion/paranoia about my car, the noise is there though!!

 

most likely the torque converter in the trans or a bearing going bad on an accessory

 

remove alt belt and start car.. this will eliminate alt from the pic,, if noise still there you know it is not the alt ,, if not there ,you might have found the culprit

 

do you have an aftermarket deck installed? it may be a bad ground on the ground wire, i have a bad ground and it whines when i accelerate, but its hardly noticeable if your not listenin for it. it sound as if its comin from the speakers? if not then i have no idea but thats my 2 cents

 

yes I have an after market stereo, I will listen closer next time but it might be coming from the speakers... Im getting an amp + 2 10" jbls in the trunk so we'll see about the ground cable. thanks. I wil also try the alt test..tyty.


p.s. hey sorry I dont know that much about wheels, sheesh... azn...

 

haha oops my fault thought it was funny at the time, but good luck with pinpointing that noise, it would bother me too if i didnt tune it out.

 

ha,

thanx, its all in fun.

 

There are several sourses which can be picked up and transmitted thru the speaker system.
Electrical
1) Alternator Electrical whine (RPM Sensitive)
2) Fuel Pump whine
All most noticable in 'fringe' areas.
Running a dedicated ground from the radio body to the car's chassis will most times address this

Mechanical (not heard thru speakers)
3) Alternator Bearing whine (RPM Sensitive)

P

 

ah ha, thx P, you have painted a clearer picture, if you will... for me.

 

could be the water pump too, whens the last time its been replaced?

 

no idea, I bought the car w 81 K on it, only 1 owner b4 me. the noise is very hard to hear, wouldnt it be louder/more noticeable if it were water/fuel pump or something more significant than a faulty ground connection?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by OSIRIuS23 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">no idea, I bought the car w 81 K on it, only 1 owner b4 me. the noise is very hard to hear, wouldnt it be louder/more noticeable if it were water/fuel pump or something more significant than a faulty ground connection?</TD></TR></TABLE>

I bet its your alternator. The bearing are proably going to the poop.
LEt me know if I am right.

 

good way to check is get a long screw driver and put the screw end on the alternator and put your ear to the handle and you should be able to hear any if there is a bad bearing, just move the screwdriver around and listen to different spots for the noise.

 

In most all cases, bad bearings - be them water pump, alternator, p/s pump etc will be better described as a growl, grind or in really bad examples a rumble.
As has been mentioned, a bearing failure can be located thru the use of a poor-mans stethoscope (screw driver) or the real thing. It can also be ascertained by selectively removing drive belts to determine the culprit (assuming it's not a single serpentine belt system).

Alternators can be the author of some pretty exotic noises. Not only mechanical noises as has been discussed, but electrical as well.
They can cause audible whistling when under heavy load or charging an almost dead battery.
They can cause an Electrical whine which can be heard thru the vehicles audio system should it's suppressor capacitor fails, or the brushes start arcing while skating against the commutator.
They can also cause an audible whine should one of the three "Phases" of the alternator fail; causing an electrical imbalance / vibration. This one in particular can effect the alternators charging capacity by factors of 1/3 should one phase "fall out".
As an example: 66 available amps out of an Alternator rated for 100

P

 

Another vote for alternator or....timing belt tensioner ?

 

Sorry to resurrect this old thread. I just purchased a 1996 Civic EX Manual trans and I'm hearing a similar noise as describe by OP. The noise is intermittent, but seems to increase with RPM and it occurs when at idle (although much quieter) both in neutral and when in gear with clutch pedal depressed. The car does have an aftermarket stereo and had previously had subwoofer/amp that the previous owner took out when he sold. I'm hoping the issue is electrical interference coming though speakers as suggested, however the noise also happens when the stereo is OFF(faceplate removed). This is probably a stupid questions but is it possible for the electrical interference to cause speakers to transmit a whine even the the stereo is OFF? Thanks a lot