lately i have been noticing that its been harder and harder to start my car. i thought it was always a fuel issue. until yesterday morning when i started the car i thought it was going to blow up!

there was a horrible grinding/crunching sound and the sound of belts rubbing/squeaking when you get on the throttle. it was coming right from the alternator. the grinding/crunching goes away after about 10 minutes of driving, but i can hear the belts.

i think it might be time to replace it.

when it goes, the battery dies right, then no starting the car?


Modified by busyychild at 11:05 AM 2/8/2008

 

Take the belt off and sping the alternator, it should spin easily by hand, if not the bushing is prolly going bad. If the bushing in the alternator goes I dont think it will neccessarily not charge. Put a multimeter on your battery with the car running if its making around 14 - 14.5 volts then its charging. To check you alternator diodes you also need a multimeter. Put the multimeter in AC and measure the AC voltage at the alternator out or at the battery positive. From what i remember it should be less than 0.5 volts as a rule of thumb but im not 100% sure on that spec. But if both of those are good then its the bushing in the altern. going only. Are you sure its the alternator making the noise and not the belts ? Check them for tension, cracks or anything imbedded into them. What I was taught is if all that looks good then spray some PB blaster on the belt if the squeel goes away then its the belt, something has become imbedded into the belt even if you cant visually see it. When you take the belt off make sure everything spins freely and clean all the pulley grooves.

 

after closer inspection its the power steering pump that is making the horrible noises. i took a screw driver up to my ear to localize the sound.

I have been having steering/alignment issues recently and i guess i know why now.

the whining from belts, when i accelerate and or turn the wheel. would that just be bad belts, or is it the pump making the noise?


Modified by busyychild at 11:27 AM 2/8/2008

 

Well belts will sqeel if the are on too tight. If you take the belt off and spin the wheel, and the wheel squeels than its the bearing in the wheel.

 

i feel rather silly. the ps fluid level was really really low. I must have a leak somewhere, i can hear a squirting sound when i turn the wheel from lock to lock. im going to take a look at it when i get back from training this weekend. I just had the car aligned so maybe something was knocked loose during the job.

and to think i went through all the worry thinking the worst.

so that solves the sounds coming from the ps pump. now when it gets nice out try to re-diagnose the crappy starts and shitty idle on load (iacv? vac leak?)

thanks lude98SH, and Acidcrakker for you help.