Loud squeal at start up.

[JMiller]

OK i put new gatorback belts on and then start uo the car and the belts squeal for about 10 seconds then stop but if i turn on any thing involving power(headlights,cd player,A/C) the squeal comes back and when i turn off everything it goes away. I have also been having alternator problems got it checked 5 times, 3 times off the car and 2 times on the car. I took off the alternator belt and there was no sqeek, i put on and it squealed again. about the alternator test everyone was a diffrent result. Any help would be great because right now i cant drive at night, and that sqeeking is annoying.

 

[synthetek]

have you tried tightening the belt?

 

[bighroder]

I dont own a dsm yet but when a alt starts to squell like that it usauly means that the bearings inside the alt have dirt or rust on them and you need to replace the alt.

 

[rconlon67]

Do you have a shop manual(haynes, chiltons or shop). Check the procedure for repalcing the alternator belt. I had the same issue with the squealing and it just needed to be tightened to the right amount. Be carefull not to tighten it to much because this can cause pre-mature bearing failure.

 

[JMiller]

Thanks for all the help. I tightend the belt all the way and now it doesnt squeal, but my alternator still acts funny when its on the car it doesnt work when its off the car it does work. Im taking the whole car to an electrical shop this time and they said they would diagnos it for 30 bucks. Thanks again for the help.

 

[bighroder]

welcome

 

[daren_p]

Thanks for all the help. I tightend the belt all the way and now it doesnt squeal, but my alternator still acts funny when its on the car it doesnt work when its off the car it does work. Im taking the whole car to an electrical shop this time and they said they would diagnos it for 30 bucks. Thanks again for the help.

What do you mean by it works off the car but doesn't work on the car? I will assume your talking about getting a load test with it off the car & it tests fine but what is the issue when installed? Are you sure its the alternator & have you tested the battery (depending on what your issue is).

 

[JMiller]

correct about the alternator, and about the battery i had it fully charged and when i started the car it drops to 50% when i rev up the car it goes up to about 75% then when i let off it drop to around 20%. I was also wondering if the problem might be the spark plugs because when the rpms drop the car will drop to 0 rpms but if im moving it will go back up to 750 and if the car is sitting it will just cut off.

 

[19Eclipse90]

Could still be your alternator, I had one bench tested at two auto parts stores and one alternator specific shop and every one of them tested it and it was working properly. Put it on the car and it would not charge the battery at all. Getting a test light is the only real way to figure this out.
The battery should not drop to 50% at startup and while moving it should be much higher than 75%. Remember, with the car off it should read around 13voltz. With the car running it should read upwards of 14 voltz.
A bad battery can fry a new alternator just as easily as a bad alternator can fry a new battery. You should test your battery like the wiseman daren p suggested

 

[bighroder]

did you get it fixed yet?

 

[Detail]

Check the alt plug.

 

[JMiller]

i kind of got it fixed. I put a semy new battery from my dads 63 impala in it and it starts up fine and the alternator is doing something because when i rev the enginge up the battery percent goes up also. Qeustion could it be the spark plugs arent fireing eneough to keep the rpms above 200 when rpms drop. Im asking this because when i got the car in july the guy i bought it from said it had new wires and old plugs(stock ngk).Thanks.