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the other day i was coming home from work and my car had a squealing sound, i shrugged it off because its winter, and i figured it was a loose belt.
as i drove down the road i began to smell burning rubber, so i pulled over and threw some snow on the belts and i heard a click and everything was fine. the squeal was still there but no burning.i figured it was a bad idler pulley bearing so i took the belt off and greased it up some in hopes it would help till i get the money to replace it. the next day everything seemed alright until i drove home from work that night. all dash lights were dim and my headlights were not as bright.
i pulled over and checked the voltage of the battery while running and it was at 13.6, which is a bit low. i got home fine, but had to drive a little faster so the rpm’s kept up.
the next morning i checked my battery while the car was not running and it was at 15.3!!! yet i have dimmed lights, car started fine that day, but the following day it sounded like the starter was not rotating as well, still started but it almost didnt.
could this be a bad alternator, or wiring maybe? i dont understand how i can have an over charged batter and be having symptoms of a low battery if it is not the wiring. what can i check to verify whats going on?
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[quote=”deville89″ post=158259]the other day i was coming home from work and my car had a squealing sound, i shrugged it off because its winter, and i figured it was a loose belt.
as i drove down the road i began to smell burning rubber, so i pulled over and threw some snow on the belts and i heard a click and everything was fine. the squeal was still there but no burning.i figured it was a bad idler pulley bearing so i took the belt off and greased it up some in hopes it would help till i get the money to replace it. the next day everything seemed alright until i drove home from work that night. all dash lights were dim and my headlights were not as bright.
i pulled over and checked the voltage of the battery while running and it was at 13.6, which is a bit low. i got home fine, but had to drive a little faster so the rpm’s kept up.
the next morning i checked my battery while the car was not running and it was at 15.3!!! yet i have dimmed lights, car started fine that day, but the following day it sounded like the starter was not rotating as well, still started but it almost didnt.
could this be a bad alternator, or wiring maybe? i dont understand how i can have an over charged batter and be having symptoms of a low battery if it is not the wiring. what can i check to verify whats going on?[/quote]
Don’t worry I doubt the alternator or the bearing died. I am willing to bet the belt is slipping. Check the running volts on the car at idle after its warm, inspect the alternator belt closely while its idling, you should see all the pulleys on that system rotate in time. About the battery voltages, you drove home with higher RPMs then the car discharged the battery for the next day. A battery when not charging can go around 60 miles if i remember correctly (at least on my Honda).
well i checked the voltage that night at i only had 13.6 volts. and the car had been running for about 10 mins at that point.
i just went out and checked the voltage a few mminutes ago with the car off and its at 12.8 now. i will check the voltage after warm again later today when i go get some gas.[quote=”deville89″ post=158264]well i checked the voltage that night at i only had 13.6 volts. and the car had been running for about 10 mins at that point.
i just went out and checked the voltage a few mminutes ago with the car off and its at 12.8 now. i will check the voltage after warm again later today when i go get some gas.[/quote]It could be a bad battery, however if you smelled rubber and a squealing the belt is primary concern.
To test the battery you either need a battery tester or take it to your local parts store and have them test it.Did you check whether or not the belt was pulling the alternator pulley around? I have seen two different things mostly, either not tight enough and the belt slips at higher RPMs or fast acceleration, or over-tightened which either destroys a pulley bearing or rubs the belt away so much that it just sits in the groove it cut out.
If the belt is spinning the alternator and you still see no charge at the battery, still MIGHT be the battery sucking too much voltage, OR you need an alternator.
Basically, check belt and then eliminate battery as an issue. If both check out, its either wiring or alternator, you can tell if its wiring by checking voltage at the *alternator vs at the battery.
ive looked at the pulleys while i was working on it before any they all seem to be spinning. and when i pulled the belt off to grease up the idler pulley it looked like an almost new belt. ive only had this car about 1 1/2 to 2 years now. there were a couple very small cracks but nothing concerning. the top of the belt seemed a bit worn though, but i figured that was due to the burning i smelled.
how do i test the voltage at the alternator?
[quote=”deville89″ post=158267]ive looked at the pulleys while i was working on it before any they all seem to be spinning. and when i pulled the belt off to grease up the idler pulley it looked like an almost new belt. ive only had this car about 1 1/2 to 2 years now. there were a couple very small cracks but nothing concerning. the top of the belt seemed a bit worn though, but i figured that was due to the burning i smelled.
how do i test the voltage at the alternator?[/quote]
Pretty much all encompassing video by Eric about how to do just that.:
[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTGz0PKIl84[/video]Make sure your car is up to operating temperature to check to see if the belt will turn the alternator.
If you want to check alternator output voltage: find the alternator positive (+) and touch one lead of your volt meter to that, and the other to either body ground or negative battery cable.
Is this a serpentine belt that threads over multiple pulleys, or a V belt that drives the alternator?
Things have to be really bad and belt tension has to be way off to get a typical serpentine belt to slip. V belts will slip much sooner when the tension begins to go slack.
i went out and did a few tests. i tested the battery while running to check the voltage that the alternator was charging at, and a voltage drop test. i have 3 videos. the last video is just to show the sound im hearing from the belts.
not sure why my videos didnt post. ill upload the to youtube and paste them here
[quote=”deville89″ post=158281]i went out and did a few tests. i tested the battery while running to check the voltage that the alternator was charging at, and a voltage drop test. i have 3 videos. the last video is just to show the sound im hearing from the belts.
not sure why my videos didnt post. ill upload the to youtube and paste them here[/quote]
The videos must be hosted off-site for ETCG, at least that I’ve been able to post. Will def await the videos.
my car has two belts, one that runs the power steering and the other runs everything else. i believe the ones that is squeaking is the one thats running the alternator, but i could be wrong. its hard to tell. there is not much room under the hood of my car.
on the first one i tried to get my phone in there to show that the alternator is spinning correctly.
[quote=”deville89″ post=158283]my car has two belts, one that runs the power steering and the other runs everything else. i believe the ones that is squeaking is the one thats running the alternator, but i could be wrong. its hard to tell. there is not much room under the hood of my car.[/quote]
What is the model of car?
[quote=”deville89″ post=158285]on the first one i tried to get my phone in there to show that the alternator is spinning correctly.
https://youtu.be/cr3G1mwKFQY%5B/quote%5D
That voltage looks fine, sounds like a bearing is going bad, try this: measure the alternator or battery voltage when you cause that belt noise, see if the voltage drops off.
[quote=”deville89″ post=158289]2000 nissan maxima se 5 speed manual[/quote]
Belt diagram for your car:
BTW, loosen and remove the serpentine belt for the alternator and air conditioning and then start up the car, see if that bearing noise is gone. I’ve heard of bad idler bearings causing alternators not to charge.
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