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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=158292]the belt noise is constant. and from what it looks like the alternator is charging fine. i have no idea whats causing the lights to dim.[/quote]
So you pulled off the belt and ran the engine and you still hear that belt noise?
[quote=”deville89″ post=158295]i did that the other day, and the noise had stopped.[/quote]
Take off the belt and inspect that idler pulley, see if its gritty when turning it or it doesn’t spin freely, if you see nothing, do the same with the alternator.
Make sure you disconnect the negative battery cable if you start messing with the alternator.
Could be A/C too, but idler is prime target.i read that if the AC bearing is bad, the noise would stop if you engage the AC system, so i tried that and the noise was still there. so its either the pulley or the alternator
so i figured out the dimming lights and all that was from a bad battery. i did a load test because the can wouldnt start today. when attempting to crank the battery dropped to 4 volts, and it was at 13 volts when not cranking. i replaced the battery and it fired right up.
i still however have the belt, or bearing sounds. am going to take it to the garage in the morning just to verify that its the tension idler. ill update this when i get more information
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