Noises... Noisy Alternator? Normal? EK1 Civic

[tsg88]

I hosed out the engine bay last week.. today noticed my Alternator is a lot more audible. It's making a kind of whine noise, dad reckons I'm just being paranoid, but I'd like to hear it from OzHonda.

Did the ol' put a screw driver to the alternator then listen thing, can't hear any sort of rattling or grinding... its still charging the battery fine.. Anyone got an input for this one...

On the upside *touch wood* everything is 'working' fine since I bought the car... just a few noises that have developed, like squeaky brakes in reverse (getting better over time), squeaky clutch line (apparently common) and now this noise.

Also found a condom (unopened but ancient) under the plastic covers in the boot, whilst replacing stock 6x9's. The old girl that used to drive it, a nurse that used the car to get to work... probably never knew it was there haha, oh the joys of used vehicles. There should be a poll on here for the amount of people finding condoms in their 'used' car.

[vinnY]

yeah condom's usually make 'em whine

on a more serious note, check the tension on the belts
water probably just made them slip a bit, check again in the morning and see if it's fine

can you describe the whine?

[Honwent]

if when it dries out you are still convinced that there is a noise coming from it, remove the belt (or have someone do) and spin the alternator pulley by hand...it should be close to silent, if not its probably a rumbling bearing thats on the way out.

[tsg88]

Yeah, I might check the belt tension and spin the pulley next time I get a chance... we spent today fixing some issues with our 4x4 so dad was kinda over the whole car thing.

It sounds like... well it reminds me of the sound the alternator in our VR Commodore (3.8ltr V6) would make... a distant child memory. If I was to describe the sound... an electric motor but louder after I cleaned the engine bay? :p and I find it strange my dad isn't bothered by it. Its not a rough sound, just steady whine. Its due for a service in a few months so if it lasts that long I'll get them to look at it.

[vinnY]

electrical noise through speakers?

[Mugen Civic]

I had my EK make a sound from the Alternator also awhile back. It sounded like a super charger or so.

Ended up being the regulator has gone bad and the Alternator was over charging with a higher voltage. The sound was an electrical hum. I don't think its a common problem thou.

Is the sound humming?

[tsg88]

No its from the alternator vinnY, it sounds like a humm, a loud er.. hum. More like a Whine really but I would compare it to a quiet supercharger I suppose.

You can't really hear it whilst driving around, its more when you just start the car and let it idle, you can hear it over the engine. I am assuming there is no way to mask that sound for selling a car? Cause when I test drove the car over a month ago now, it didn't do it, we thrashed it up some hills and stopped to listen to the idle sound and it was not there. But after a Sunday bath it's there :( I might go play in my lunch break tomorrow.

[Mugen Civic]

Okay, hope its not the same problem as mine. Cost alot to fix, $800.

[vinnY]

$800? thought it could be done for $80 or less (http://www.ozhonda.com/forum/showthread.php?t=68124&highlight=alternator)
doesn't look too involved either

[mocchi]

i can hear high pitch noise, whirring whiney noise when im above alternator mixed with tapping sounds from injectors, and inside valve cover. belts are also chirping.

maybe my alternator is also dying. what component in an alternator that would usually fail first?

yelp.

[Mugen Civic]

$800? thought it could be done for $80 or less (http://www.ozhonda.com/forum/showthread.php?t=68124&highlight=alternator)
doesn't look too involved either

Alot labor goes into it cause the alternator is like kinda hidden as apose to Toyotas n such. Replaced regulator and bearing and probably should of added that i had it modified to give out more amps since it was getting worked on. Helps power the ICE.

Had it done at some alternator or auto electrician specialist 1 or 2 years ago in Hornsby. Left the car with them for two days.

[Mugen Civic]

i can hear high pitch noise, whirring whiney noise when im above alternator mixed with tapping sounds from injectors, and inside valve cover. belts are also chirping.

maybe my alternator is also dying. what component in an alternator that would usually fail first?

yelp.

Usually bearing or regulator would go out first, i guess.

[tsg88]

$800! holy crap, I can probably live with the whine for that... as long as it keeps charge in my battery. My belts are quiet all I can hear in the engine bay is general engine noise, tappets and now this whine.

I'd just get a local bloke to replace it when it fails... doubt it would cost that much to do up here. But still, its not pleasant when owning a car for a month and something is already going wrong with it.

My sister is also up for an auto-electrician job, her air-con compressor is squealing REALLY loud on a cold start. And it ain't the belt it's internal. 94 Nissan Pulsar hers is. Damn cars lol.

[tsg88]

I took the car over to my local mechanic, he likes it :). 'very sensible ride, awesome first car :thumbsup:'

I asked him some questions and apparently its running fine. Pointed out the noises it makes. He just looked at me and said 'It's a 13 year old car? It makes 13 year old car noises?' Alternator is noisier than usual but he also doesn't seem bothered by it, reckons its probably on its way out but its nothing to worry about just yet.

He also told me to only use Genuine Honda fluids for everything but coolant and engine oil. Seems to know a lot about Honda's so I might take it to him when it needs its next service.

[EK1.6LCIV]

I'd use the coolant Honda makes, it's prob the best on the market, the inside of my 230oook radiator when I blew the top tank was evident of this as it was all brand new inside still with no residue or corrosion

are the bolts tight on the alt? I lost one yrs ago driving up north and it made some interesting noises, they do come loose over time/high kilometers

[aaronng]

I took the car over to my local mechanic, he likes it :). 'very sensible ride, awesome first car :thumbsup:'

I asked him some questions and apparently its running fine. Pointed out the noises it makes. He just looked at me and said 'It's a 13 year old car? It makes 13 year old car noises?' Alternator is noisier than usual but he also doesn't seem bothered by it, reckons its probably on its way out but its nothing to worry about just yet.

He also told me to only use Genuine Honda fluids for everything but coolant and engine oil. Seems to know a lot about Honda's so I might take it to him when it needs its next service.

Use genuine coolant and transmission fluid. For everything else, you can use aftermarket as long as it meets the specifications.

[EK1.6LCIV]

Use genuine coolant and transmission fluid. For everything else, you can use aftermarket as long as it meets the specifications.


x2 take this advice to the bank, will make motoring alot easier down the track

[tsg88]

oh ok, genuine coolant too... What colour is the genuine coolant, red or green? Mine has green in it at the moment. So if Red then it's not genuine in it. He actually had some Honda bottles in the reception, no coolant though. Surprising for a mechanic on quiet ol' Bribie Island. We take our Holden Monterey there cause he actually knows how to work on it without breaking something, it's an odd model with rare parts. Commodore goes there too.

Bolts are tight on the Alternator. On the weekend I will loosen the belt and spin the pulley along with some other maintenance. I am sorta working my way through it whenever I get a chance.

[vinnY]

genuine's like blue or something isn't it?

maybe you're just being a bit too paranoid about it, it's a fairly old car afterall :p
if your trusted mech says it's okay, it probably is

[tsg88]

Yeah that's my thoughts vinnY but I am like that with everything I own, and my mates always wonder why my stuff lasts so long without breaking. I don't buy cheap crap and maintain the stuff I have properly. I look after everything I own so its no surprise I am freaking out over my first car.

But I am learning fast about the finer details, I knew the basics from watching/helping dad but owning a car has made it a whole new ball game.

[vinnY]

yeah just read lots of diy thread and you'll learn heaps in no time and can stop relying on a mechanic :)

then again, one major thing is you usually learn lots about something after you've broken it :p

[EK1.6LCIV]

oem is blue. just do a flush of the coolant that's in it, when I bought my car mine was some dodge green shit some tight arse put in there prior to sale

just drain it out and refill the system with distilled water two times (this should get a good percentage of the old stuff out) and then fill it with oem fluid :) last for ages the oem gear

[tsg88]

atm I can hardly afford fuel rofl, went a bit backwards over Christmas. But when things are steady again I might make it an afternoon job. However, if this previous mechanic has been putting non-genuine coolant into it for the time the previous owner had the car (5 yrs)... wouldn't that make putting Honda coolant into it... pointless.. if it's been running fine this whole time... and still runs fine?

Pretty noob question, but the main worry I have read on the internet is from cheaper high silicate coolants clogging up the radiator. But that might be getting too deep into the subject.

[EK1.6LCIV]

the dodge green coolants do just that, Ive seen plenty of not even a yr old radiators for commodores buggered with debris of poorly engineered coolants

its not pointless putting the oem coolant in now, will save future repairs that will occur if you use any other brand apart from oem or bmw (I work in the petro-chem industry, we have discussions on various chemicals often, coolant comes up, we do go into detail on coolants from time to time with test carried out in various situations, to say the least Honda has made one hell of a product that outlast, outdoes and will overcome alot of conditions)

[tsg88]

Just curious, but is there ANY third party coolant that you would put into a Honda? I know Honda coolant is the obvious choice for your Honda engine... But of all the brands available in Autobarn/Repco/SCA. In the case that Honda coolant suitable for our cars suddenly disappeared from the face of the earth :p What would be your substitute? Would be handy to know for dire situations when stranded or something..

btw speaking of EK Civics saw one today almost identical to mine, however it was so beat up... sounded real rough, even though mine makes a whine from the radiator its generally quiet. Funny how when you start driving a certain car you notice more of them on the road.

[EK1.6LCIV]

I would be going to BMW for theirs, nothing on the AU market sold in common parts stores will work the same

straight distilled water would work better than half the stuff they sell here, I have seen an 84' Honda City run on nothing but distilled water up until 04' with 230,000ks on the clock.