Another Alternator problem, different from other guy :)

so I just got alternator in place and now when I rev up to like 5k rpms I can really hear something in my engine wind up I'm wondering if that is the alternator. I hear it when the window is down and no tunes are playing, over my muffler. So its a bit loud. No alternator charging problems tho, works like a beauty. could it just be the new alternator being silly?

Either the alternator is singing to you, mine does if it spins too hard, or the belt is either too loose or too tight, or your tensioner is going bad...

yeah im woundering if it could be belt related too, this is starting to sound like a common problem now, maybe u all arent putting the belt back on correctly or tight enough

Yeah like others have said it could be the alternator bet it is because mine made the same noise for over three weeks when I acelerated and finally my alternator went kaaaput.....Or like others have said it might be the belt visually inspect it to check for cracks and roughness...maybe it's a loose drive pulley in your belt drive...or even loose mounting bolts probably not....Like alot of other guys who told me....take out your alternator and bring it down to autozone...its free..ahhhh..free...also if you have a voltmeter check the wiring on alternator By touching one probe to ground; should be near the front of car and use other probe to test hot wires on the alternator individually....while car is running just be careful........ :icon16:

This forum kicks arrrrssssss

could be debris in the belt vanes, you can clean it while the engine is running, use a standard blade screwdriver and while the engine is running put the corner of the blade in one of the ribs of the belt and watch the sparks fly, those are the rocks being hit out of the belt. when the sparks stop go to the next one, i dont think i need to tell yall to be EXTREMELY careful while doing this.

as for putting the belt on wrong, its not really possible with a serpentine belt system, unless like was said before the tensioner is going bad.

could be debris in the belt vanes, you can clean it while the engine is running, use a standard blade screwdriver and while the engine is running put the corner of the blade in one of the ribs of the belt and watch the sparks fly, those are the rocks being hit out of the belt. when the sparks stop go to the next one, i dont think i need to tell yall to be EXTREMELY careful while doing this.

as for putting the belt on wrong, its not really possible with a serpentine belt system, unless like was said before the tensioner is going bad.


I think i want to wear a motorcycle helmet when i do it or just duct tape the belt to my hand for that attemp.

Also Sears installed it for me, wasn't me. any ideas?

Put a screwdriver on it and put your ear on the screwdriver and listen to make sure it's coming from the alternator. Or got buy a stethoscope those things are handy dandy for finding illusive sounds under the hood.

Put a screwdriver on it and put your ear on the screwdriver and listen to make sure it's coming from the alternator. ....

You would do that witha running engine???? And what happens when the screwdriver comes out your other ear???

Well since only a moron would put it on any part of the alternator that is spinning, I would do it. You might not want to though...

I am just trying to help the guy out by giving him ideas on how to locate whatever is making the noise, I guess I should have just waited until someone else gave him some advice and then ragged on them for their idea, since I know that'll help Xeno find the problem faster...

lol... just kidding man. But uh... I still wouldn't do that, actually If YOU did that infront of me... I'd probably leave the garage and hope not to hear any sounds like a body hitting the floor. And then buy you a beer for having the balls to do something like that.

Ok, I just hate it when people give advice and other people on here bash them for it and tell them it's stupid. But this place has a definate history of it.

playing stethoscope with a screwdriver is a good idea i have done it many times..........about putting a screwdriver on one of the ribs of the belt...............be careful....you will look pretty funny with a screwdriver sticking out of your ear

Hey man if it works... got nothing against old school solutions to problems, more often than not, they're the ones that work the best.

I'm too much of a wuss to try sticking long, relatively sharp objects near moving machinery.

Originally Posted by CamarosRsweet94
Put a screwdriver on it and put your ear on the screwdriver and listen to make sure it's coming from the alternator. ....


Earlsfat:You would do that witha running engine???? And what happens when the screwdriver comes out your other ear???

Bahaha actually I was confused and thinking 'wtf you want me to put a screwdriver on the belts?! dude i'm dumb but... cmon how do you expect me to hold it in place and try to listen at the same time?

lol i do have to admit when i first read it i thought he ment to do it while cleaning the belt and that is a very bad idea. but putting the screwdriver on the alternator housing that isnt moving and putting your ear to it is a common diagnostic trick. you can also use a length of rubber hose, even garden hose about three feet long, put one end to your ear, and then use the other end to listen to each pully one at a time, when you find the point of the most noise, youve found your problem.

...you can also use a length of rubber hose, even garden hose about three feet long, put one end to your ear, and then use the other end to listen to each pully one at a time, when you find the point of the most noise, youve found your problem.

LMAO - With as experienced an automobile diagnostics as I am the REAL problem would be trying to explain the huge red welts on the other side of my face from the hose whipping around and wailing me in the head.

Actually I used to do some work for a mechanic that used to do this, and watched them do it often... I'd still never try it unless I was wearing all sorts of protective gear. You really don't understand how BAD my luck is.

How bad your luck is?

I'll toast to that, just tryning to skimp through the rest of this summer without any further incidents, and last night, WHAAMMOOOO! Rearended by a 18 yr old kid (in my Buick thank god).

Oooh how bad did you hit him/her?

I took it easy, I could see he was scared as day. When I was able to get my door open it flung open and yeah I was pissed, fuck I jsut go hit while at standstill and this kid creamed me, I realized it was a kid.

So, just exchanged info knowing that if anything was to come of it, his rates would be screwed for a long time, and no doubt mom and dad are going to have words. Plus, even though I am the victim, we all know it's going to effect my rates. And having a clean record for 12-13 years I'd rather not cause an issue and settle it private party.

im pretty accident prone myself, and well, i will say that even i have been bitten by my techneique, i was using the hose to listen to a noise under the drivebelt on a tahoe while it was running and up on a lift, the hose got pulled into the belt, making the belt jump the pullys, by the time i got the truck down and turned it off, i needed to replace the tentioner, the serpentine belt, intake ducting, and cooling fan shroud. my boss was less than pleased. It was his truck.

im pretty accident prone myself, and well, i will say that even i have been bitten by my techneique, i was using the hose to listen to a noise under the drivebelt on a tahoe while it was running and up on a lift, the hose got pulled into the belt, making the belt jump the pullys, by the time i got the truck down and turned it off, i needed to replace the tentioner, the serpentine belt, intake ducting, and cooling fan shroud. my boss was less than pleased. It was his truck.

LMAO... for me it would have got stuck in the same pulley and "wham, wham, wham..." smacked me in the head and made me look like the elephant man after getting a good ole Harlem style thumping.

sticking hoses and screwdrivers near moving parts just seems like a bad idea in general to me.. kinda like throwing tennis balls at a ceiling fan.. cuz if you mess up and the shit hits, its gonna get tossed around like a freakin pinball game..

*speaking of moving parts, i was in my machining class in hs (junior year, advanced metals tech 2), i was in the back cabinet looking for a tap and dye set.. minding my own business, when someone across the room was on one of the big jet lathes we had, he left the chuck key in and turned on the machine.. whether he did it to be a dumbass or inadvertantly we dont know, but those things have some crazy power, because it spun down, hit the table and shot back across the room.. the chuck key went through the cabinet no more than 3 feet away from where i was standing.. so when you guys say screwdriver through the ear.. i can honestly see it happening.

One of my friends works on big diesel trucks, he has an interesting gizmo that has a wire with a clip on the end of it, 6 different plugs so he can listen to 6 different things at a time to try and find a noise. When you tangle one of the wires in a drive shaft that box can really fly....

lol, we used those at work, they are a godsend when trying to track down phantom squeeks and vibrations.

...they are a godsend when trying to track down phantom squeeks and vibrations.

Hey!!! Wanna send that thing may way??? Maybe help me save alot of time with all the noises in my maro, its almost like a freakin symphony sometimes.

Some of those stethescopes suck though cuz they are really tight and pierce into your brain when you put them on. But they do work that is for sure.

i'm assuming you are supposed to get steathoscopes that arn't amplified so much to hear a mouse fart.

mice fart pretty hardcore sometimes though... *restraining myself from making a gf joke*

the box tester has headphones that are very comfy. :)

I took it easy, I could see he was scared as day. When I was able to get my door open it flung open and yeah I was pissed, fuck I jsut go hit while at standstill and this kid creamed me, I realized it was a kid.

So, just exchanged info knowing that if anything was to come of it, his rates would be screwed for a long time, and no doubt mom and dad are going to have words. Plus, even though I am the victim, we all know it's going to effect my rates. And having a clean record for 12-13 years I'd rather not cause an issue and settle it private party.

lol, if your insurance goes up becasue you got rearended then its time to get a new insurance company

Maybe its just the one I have... the spring tension is so stiff that it pierces your eardrums...

The box is adjustable, which is a good thing. It helped find a clunk in my mother's Hyundai (translated: piece of crap) that turned out to be a failing strut after they were told nothing was wrong.

Oh I know those types of mechanic, they don't even lift the hood and use your car as a beer-coaster. =/