Belt/Pulley Noise

After driving the car for two days, the sound is definitely GONE. Couldn't be happier. Thanks again Derek. I owe you threefold. Seriously.

Congrats Rick! We wouldn't want a noisy Rivi as ROTM...

LOL! No we would not.

DEMonte1997 wrote:

LOL! No we would not.

Rickw wrote:

Derek,
Did you end up using the oversize pulley from way back.?
If so, how did it effect the accessories during idle.?

It helped a bit. I forget the exact number my idle voltage changed, but haven't had the car during a high-use period (winter snowstorm in traffic) to test. And I won't anymore, as I don't have the car anymore. But I know it's improved. Sorry I don't have more info than that. Also, my brother's commute is all highway, so even if he is driving in a snowstorm, he won't have to face the idling that I was subjected to.

Well, I guess I'll try mine when I do the LIM job next week and report a before and after.
I noticed even with upgrading the wire from the Alternator to the terminal block I still had a fluctuating fan speed in the summer with AC on high. No big deal, but I want to see what this 10% pulley does for voltage readings at idle.

Wait... not solved. Heard squawking today and knew something wasn't right. Pulled accessory belt off and after spinning the alternator pulley, I hear the sound. UGH... I hate that damn thing. Looks like I need an entirely new unit now. Funny how it was great with the new pulley for two weeks now. lol

Just a suggestion, but I might be inclined to try some RC car electric motor cleaner to clean it out. I've done it before, a long time ago. It's meant for electric motors, which is all the Alternator is....only bigger.

Suggestion is warmly welcomed. Thanks Scott! I'll give that a shot.

I had some QD contacts cleaner kicking around in my garage and figured I'd give it a shot. Getting a spare alt from Ed tomorrow anyway. Sprayed it sparingly inside the alt, let it dry and then ran the car. The damn thing stfu... lol. Not sure how long that will last but for now I have a quiet car again.

DEMonte1997 wrote:

I had some QD contacts cleaner kicking around in my garage and figured I'd give it a shot. Getting a spare alt from Ed tomorrow anyway. Sprayed it sparingly inside the alt, let it dry and then ran the car. The damn thing stfu... lol. Not sure how long that will last but for now I have a quiet car again.

too bad the alt bearing is such a pain to replace. Replace that and the brushes - those are about all that goes if you catch them early enough.

Albert

DEMonte1997 wrote:

I had some QD contacts cleaner kicking around in my garage and figured I'd give it a shot. Getting a spare alt from Ed tomorrow anyway. Sprayed it sparingly inside the alt, let it dry and then ran the car. The damn thing stfu... lol. Not sure how long that will last but for now I have a quiet car again.

Day two and still no noise. Have Ed's alt sitting in a box just in case.

It's just a matter of time though. There's no way to get lube back inside the sealed bearing.

Just consider it a planned replacement and find a comfortable time to do it. Then do it. It will fail if you leave it in.

LOL... the alt I got from Ed squeaks worse than the one I have on the car. Just turning the pulley by hand it makes all kinds of racket. Awesome.... They list it as noise free so we'll see what they do about return.

Oh man, that sucks.
I'm curious as to how long your Alternator stays quiet.....

Me too. I took the belt off today and sprayed more of that contact cleaner in there and spun the pulley by hand. When it made the noise at the end of last week, there was a spot where the pulley was hitting a "slow spot". Almost like it was catching on something. That's the exact point where it make the squeaking sound. I liken it to the sound of a bad wheel on a shopping cart. Since putting that cleaner in there, it's been surprisingly quiet. *keeps fingers crossed*

Erik wrote me back from MPC and said all the alts make noise occasionally spinning them by hand but once you put belt tension on them, they shut up. Never had an alt do that before. Oh well.

Since you've tried two alternators, and from your comment about the "slow spot", have you considered the tensioner could be making the noise? I had a chirping sound for a while that came and went - replacing the tensioner fixed it. You can test the tensioner by carefully applying tension with a ratchet with engine running.

DEMonte1997 wrote:

Me too. I took the belt off today and sprayed more of that contact cleaner in there and spun the pulley by hand. When it made the noise at the end of last week, there was a spot where the pulley was hitting a "slow spot". Almost like it was catching on something. That's the exact point where it make the squeaking sound. I liken it to the sound of a bad wheel on a shopping cart. Since putting that cleaner in there, it's been surprisingly quiet. *keeps fingers crossed*

Makes total sense. Some dirt or something was stuck to it. Whenever my RC motors started "whining" they'd get a good cleaning. Stayed quiet until they got dirty again.

DEMonte1997 wrote:

Me too. I took the belt off today and sprayed more of that contact cleaner in there and spun the pulley by hand. When it made the noise at the end of last week, there was a spot where the pulley was hitting a "slow spot". Almost like it was catching on something....
Since putting that cleaner in there, it's been surprisingly quiet. *keeps fingers crossed*

I suppose it's possible that the bearing isn't the problem, but rather oil/dust/dirt gathered in between the rotor & the stator, and the "Freon" electrical cleaner is clearing out the blockage...