hello!
"SKREEEEECCCCCCHHHHH"..
Thats the noise thats eminating from around my fanbelt area.. my first thoguht was the cahnge the belt... did that... & now it goes screech more!!
What does the alternator sound like when its dying??
SKREEEEECCCCCCHHH!! Drive Belt? NOW WITH PICTURES!
Moderator: RichardW
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cheesesliceking
<font color="red"><font size="3"><u><b><center>**UPDATE**</center></b></u></font id="size3"></font id="red">
<center>OK, so its a engine-crank pulley to alternator-pulley belt *not fan belt as i might have previously said..</center>
OK, so i've just been out in the freezing cold & snow! to tighten the belt, pretty sure i have got it good and tight with . 5mm flex just like it says in the Haynes bible of lies... but its still screeching!!!!
Pretty sure the belt is tight enough without being overtight.. see pic below, not a lot of room left to tighten!!
ANy ideas anyone?? could it be the alternator is on its way out?? if i play with the accelerator the thing start to scream big stylee, if that helps anyone?. HEYLP!!
I included a pic of my little baby below to cheer myself up [B)]
Enjoy [8D]
<center>OK, so its a engine-crank pulley to alternator-pulley belt *not fan belt as i might have previously said..</center>
OK, so i've just been out in the freezing cold & snow! to tighten the belt, pretty sure i have got it good and tight with . 5mm flex just like it says in the Haynes bible of lies... but its still screeching!!!!
Pretty sure the belt is tight enough without being overtight.. see pic below, not a lot of room left to tighten!!
ANy ideas anyone?? could it be the alternator is on its way out?? if i play with the accelerator the thing start to scream big stylee, if that helps anyone?. HEYLP!!
I included a pic of my little baby below to cheer myself up [B)]
Enjoy [8D]
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martyhopkirk
Just a thought....
My Laguna 1.8 Sport(!!! still cracks me up that why the hell would Ren name a lardy 8v car Sport????)[:D] does the same.
Started after i changed cam belt, again first thought was drive belt slipping, so changed it, no joy[:(]
Sprayed some WD40 magical potion down side of alternator pully, it stopped for about 30 secs, used some 3 in 1, stopped for about 2 mins... use some shell helix synthetic engine oil and i get 2 days P&Q.
Im afraid it sounds like sh****d alternator bearings.[:(][:(][:(]
Excess strain by over tight belt will only epediate their doom.[:D]
good news however is ive been driving Ren like this for a year and done 8k miles without any problems with charging etc. output still good.
So give magic WD a go (dont get on belt or pulley) and if it goes, alternator bearings are shot. about £70 exchange or may be cheaper (i mean my old ford one was £40).
Good luck.
Marty.[8D]
My Laguna 1.8 Sport(!!! still cracks me up that why the hell would Ren name a lardy 8v car Sport????)[:D] does the same.
Started after i changed cam belt, again first thought was drive belt slipping, so changed it, no joy[:(]
Sprayed some WD40 magical potion down side of alternator pully, it stopped for about 30 secs, used some 3 in 1, stopped for about 2 mins... use some shell helix synthetic engine oil and i get 2 days P&Q.
Im afraid it sounds like sh****d alternator bearings.[:(][:(][:(]
Excess strain by over tight belt will only epediate their doom.[:D]
good news however is ive been driving Ren like this for a year and done 8k miles without any problems with charging etc. output still good.
So give magic WD a go (dont get on belt or pulley) and if it goes, alternator bearings are shot. about £70 exchange or may be cheaper (i mean my old ford one was £40).
Good luck.
Marty.[8D]
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Stuart McB
- Posts: 1635
- Joined: 03 Oct 2003, 00:50
- Location: United Kingdom
- My Cars:
- x 1
Alternator noise. Like some thing from a night mare. My ZX alternator made so much noise you couldn't hear the diesel engine just this bloody awful sound. Try running with out the drive belt. But do not drive!!!
If it's the alternator, when it's fixed you'll definatley feel a lot better as well as the sound goes right through you.
If it's the alternator, when it's fixed you'll definatley feel a lot better as well as the sound goes right through you.
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martyhopkirk
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cheesesliceking
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martyhopkirk
Varies! Bus and lorry units good for 250k miles.... car ones supposed to be good for 100k.
ive had them fail at 40k
to be honest if you know its ok then spend the £15, then take your old one and recondition it (fit new bushes, bearings regrease and regulator) you can recon it yourself for about £40 and it (should be) as good as new. alternativly check out GS&F and price up an exchenge unit which should have a time/milage guarentee with it.
My lagunas was £70 + VAT, yours may be similar or cheaper. but like i mentioned before its not failed yet and as mrs h only does 55 miles a fortnight i cant be bothered sorting it...
ive had them fail at 40k
to be honest if you know its ok then spend the £15, then take your old one and recondition it (fit new bushes, bearings regrease and regulator) you can recon it yourself for about £40 and it (should be) as good as new. alternativly check out GS&F and price up an exchenge unit which should have a time/milage guarentee with it.
My lagunas was £70 + VAT, yours may be similar or cheaper. but like i mentioned before its not failed yet and as mrs h only does 55 miles a fortnight i cant be bothered sorting it...
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cheesesliceking
Still running the original alternator in my '93 XM TD12 after 510,000 km. I have fitted new brushes twice (after about 200,000 km each time), but the rest is untouched. It's a Mitsubishi 120 A model.
As far as your problem is concerned, the obvious test is to spray some belt spray on the belt and see if it shuts up or not.
//NiSk
As far as your problem is concerned, the obvious test is to spray some belt spray on the belt and see if it shuts up or not.
//NiSk
There's possibly a pile of things that could cause this.My BX 16V has done it since I changed the alternator drive belt & didn't do it before, so logic tells me that it's possibly just the belt. I've tightened it enough to do Santana proud yet as soon as I start the car this mongrel thing screams at me until; the initial load is off the alternator. As my car has air/con, as I live in a place about 10 degrees hotter than Hades (was on TV tonight someone had a Nokia mobile phone melt when they left it locked in their car) I have to have a longer than normal belt that goes around a jockey pulley.
Since changing the belt I have noticed spots of what appears to be chrome plating appearing on the belt apparently coming frrom the air/con compressor pulley. Someone has reckoned that the small "V"s on the serpentine belt, be it 4 or 5 groove, can have different angles on them. This may be correct or it may just be 'Urban legend' but it is an intersting thought as this would mean that in a real life situation, the "V"s could be a mini version of running say an "M" section belt on an "A" pulley thereby causing the grooves to either bottom out or not mate correctly with the pulley thereby causing the slip.
An excessive load due to an electrical problem or short could cause an excessive load on the alternator but again, this should have been present prior to fitting the new belt.
Another culprit & one I helped diagnose on a friends Peugeot recently is the dreaded Harmonic Balance. This is basically the crankshaft pulley that is mounted on a rubber boss. In this case, when a new belt was fitted & adjusted, the strain of the new belt adjusted to correct tension was enough to take this obviously failing component over the edge & effectively caused the crank pulley to twist sideways & hence cause this guys belt to squeal regardless of how much adjustment he screwed on. Once replaced, the problem vanished & whilst I can't speak for the set up on a ZX they are a fairly common component & prone to failure of this type.
Hope all this is some help.
Alan S[:D]
Since changing the belt I have noticed spots of what appears to be chrome plating appearing on the belt apparently coming frrom the air/con compressor pulley. Someone has reckoned that the small "V"s on the serpentine belt, be it 4 or 5 groove, can have different angles on them. This may be correct or it may just be 'Urban legend' but it is an intersting thought as this would mean that in a real life situation, the "V"s could be a mini version of running say an "M" section belt on an "A" pulley thereby causing the grooves to either bottom out or not mate correctly with the pulley thereby causing the slip.
An excessive load due to an electrical problem or short could cause an excessive load on the alternator but again, this should have been present prior to fitting the new belt.
Another culprit & one I helped diagnose on a friends Peugeot recently is the dreaded Harmonic Balance. This is basically the crankshaft pulley that is mounted on a rubber boss. In this case, when a new belt was fitted & adjusted, the strain of the new belt adjusted to correct tension was enough to take this obviously failing component over the edge & effectively caused the crank pulley to twist sideways & hence cause this guys belt to squeal regardless of how much adjustment he screwed on. Once replaced, the problem vanished & whilst I can't speak for the set up on a ZX they are a fairly common component & prone to failure of this type.
Hope all this is some help.
Alan S[:D]
OK, I have a similar schreeching noise (although intermittent) on my MkI AX GT which I thought was the alternator. I've taken off the belt completely, and the noise continues exactly as before.
My next guess would be the water pump, but before I start getting too involved, has anyone got any other ideas or suggestions?
Thanks!
My next guess would be the water pump, but before I start getting too involved, has anyone got any other ideas or suggestions?
Thanks!