Battery Light and Whine but Alternator less than a year old?

[Shaffert]

Hey guys, today after my car sat for like three days, it started to whine. Then later today it started to whine and the battery light came on, turns off when driving. I put on a brand new Bosch Alternator, Turner Motorsport power drive pulley along with tensioner pulley, serpantine belt, and battery. I am just wondering what you guys think what the sound could be. I replaced that all in January, maybe put like 8,000 miles on the car out of this whole year, so I haven't been driving it much. Could be a bad batch of alternators? What do you guys think? Any answers will be appreciated!

[flyfishvt]

Same answers you got on Facebook.

[somebody5788]

I assume the answer on facebook was alternator.

I bought a Bosch for mine and it never made it on the car. The "reman" alternator was 100% seized out of the box. Bosch alternators are garbage these days as they are almost all remans and they are very poorly done.

[Shaffert]

Same answers you got on Facebook.

Haha nice you saw that. Let me add too that after driving for a bit whine wemt away and light stayed off even at stop. Then after a little bit again came back on and whine came back. So thinking possibly loose belt too?

[snaponbob]

Haha nice you saw that. Let me add too that after driving for a bit whine wemt away and light stayed off even at stop. Then after a little bit again came back on and whine came back. So thinking possibly loose belt too?

There is a belt tensioner on your engine. Your alternator is most likely failing. Just because it is "new", does not mean it's any good. PROOF? Go to a car dealerships and look at all the "new" cars in for warranty repairs.

[Shaffert]

I still have a warranty on the alternator. and true you have a point. just replaced the tensioner as well and when that was bad never had the wine like this or the battery light. So alternator is getting tested tomorrow then most likely shipping it back to turner motorsport to patiently wait a new one. thanks guys. I tend to freak out when something goes wrong and start posting asking questions

[ben4bama]

My Bosch alternator has whined since I got it

[JDStrickland]

Your alternator is toast. They build bad ones once in a while, you got one of them.

Take the belt off and start the car, if there is no whine then you found the trouble. Do not run the car with the belt off for very long, the water pump will be disabled and the car will overheat. I'd suggest you get about 5 minutes, certainly not more than 10.

[ben4bama]

Your alternator is toast. They build bad ones once in a while, you got one of them. Take the belt off and start the car, if there is no whine then you found the trouble. Do not run the car with the belt off for very long, the water pump will be disabled and the car will overheat. I'd suggest you get about 5 minutes, certainly not more than 10. There's other bearings that could whine like water pump and AC so you could start with removing AC belt first and see if whine goes away.

[angeleye540i]

Alternator has to be going out... Also probly overloaded and under driven might have caused it to go quicker... Take those under drive pulleys off, they do more harm than good... Buy a good Bosch alternator and any other suspect pulleys.,, easier said than done, sorry to hear about problems... I had an alternator on regular driven pulleys go out after 3 months when I tried to cut corners and bought a cheaper (water cooled) alternator, which is like 900$ new 600 reman, and 300 Chinese, I went Chinese, bad idea... That was the last sweatshop part I put on, before I stopped trying to cut corners, not saying u are doing that, it could be a combination of things, it could be: The battery wasn't as strong or didn't last as long as it should have, along with the alternator being under driven at idle speed, could have caused extra load and overworked the alternator, but none of that explains the sounds except, those underdrive pulleys, can cause belt slipping and not quite fit right,.. That's my 2 cents

[snaponbob]

There's other bearings that could whine like water pump and AC so you could start with removing AC belt first and see if whine goes away.

You are ignoring the fact that the charging light comes on as well. Other bearings making noise will not cause that !!

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Alternator has to be going out... Also probly overloaded and under driven might have caused it to go quicker... Take those under drive pulleys off, they do more harm than good... Buy a good Bosch alternator and any other suspect pulleys.,, easier said than done, sorry to hear about problems... I had an alternator on regular driven pulleys go out after 3 months when I tried to cut corners and bought a cheaper (water cooled) alternator, which is like 900$ new 600 reman, and 300 Chinese, I went Chinese, bad idea... That was the last sweatshop part I put on, before I stopped trying to cut corners, not saying u are doing that, it could be a combination of things, it could be: The battery wasn't as strong or didn't last as long as it should have, along with the alternator being under driven at idle speed, could have caused extra load and overworked the alternator, but none of that explains the sounds except, those underdrive pulleys, can cause belt slipping and not quite fit right,.. That's my 2 cents


Umm .... underdrive pulleys SLOW the alternator. That would not harm ANY bearings. That said, water cooled alternators may be a completely different matter.

[angeleye540i]

I know what under drive pulleys do... It's in the word under drive... I'm not saying the noise is a bearing blown by the speed of the pulleys but rather the new belt size I assume and the fit of the belt around the new pulleys can cause belt slipping if it's too loose and damaged pulleys if too tight.... It wouldn't be the first time it happened... I would use the probe technique to try and isolate the sound to make sure which pulley is making the noise...

[angeleye540i]

And there's always the possibility that the sound and the alternator light are just coincidental, and unrelated....

[snaponbob]

One would hope the OP used the correct belt.

[ben4bama]

You are ignoring the fact that the charging light comes on as well. Other bearings making noise will not cause that !! - -

Failing battery can cause battery light as well, hence, battery light.

[snaponbob]

Failing battery can cause battery light as well, hence, battery light.

You really do not want this situation to be an alternator, do you????

[JDStrickland]

A weak battery does not turn the Charging System Light on. If the car was running and there was no battery installed, the charging system light would not be on. A weak battery will not cause the light to turn on.

Since the light is on and there is noise, then there is an issue with the alternator that must be resolved that involves at the very least taking the alternator out of the car for a close inspection. You might find that something else is making noise, but the light will be on because of an issue with the diode pack, voltage regulator. One might be able to access the voltage regulator while the alternator is installed, but I don't think this is true unless one is very familiar with where the screws are.

[woody328is]

This is getting painful. Pull the alternator and change it out.

[somebody5788]

This is getting painful.

Some people think less before getting a permanent Tattoo than the OP is about whether or not it's the alernator.

[angeleye540i]

A weak battery does not turn the Charging System Light on. If the car was running and there was no battery installed, the charging system light would not be on. A weak battery will not cause the light to turn on. Since the light is on and there is noise, then there is an issue with the alternator that must be resolved that involves at the very least taking the alternator out of the car for a close inspection. You might find that something else is making noise, but the light will be on because of an issue with the diode pack, voltage regulator. One might be able to access the voltage regulator while the alternator is installed, but I don't think this is true unless one is very familiar with where the screws are. thank you, I was about to say it's not the battery light just because it's a picture of the battery it's the charging system light thank you for putting that straight

[DJ Genius]

Wow, that is a lot of speculations in this thread...
Why don't you just get the car to he garage (or do you it yourself) and get a proper alternator and battery tests done. If alternator is alright and is charging the system, check the battery. If the battery is holding the charge, then it is your voltage regulator.

[Shaffert]

I tested it at my shop a couple days ago, wow lots of replies...way more than i expected to come back to lol. it was the alternator. replaced it today with a brand my grandfather gets from his parts vendor. Everything is working great again. sending back my bosche one to turner motorsport for warranty. Will just have another laying around. Only paid about $100 for the alternator from the shop anyway, which was WAAAAY cheaper than Turner Motorsport. Thanks again everyone for the replies. I tend to freak out a little to easily since it is the only car running of mine at the moment haha.