Sqealing noise whilst driving.

I am no mechanic but am pretty handy around an engine but am a little bit stumped at the moment.

The car broke down the other day (2001 Suzuki ignis). The breakdown man said it was an alternator problem but I put a reconditioned on on the a couple of months ago.

Whilst driving there is a squaling coming from somewhere but not if the engine is revved in neatral. I can not figure out why the belt would squal in gear and not if in neatral and I can not figure out what is squaling as I dont want to hang onto the car with my head in the engine whilst driving.

Any ideas on what could be the problem?

a reply to: nonspecific

sounds like gremlins to me.

a reply to: IShotMyLastMuse

The Suzuki Ignis came with anti gremlin as standard so we can eliminate that one!

Friend of mine had a similar problem-though their car sounded like the starship Enterprise at certain points.

Turns out their problem was the wheel bearings.

Might be worth looking into

a reply to: Unionfeatures

That was my fist thought but it does not sound like a bearing and it is definatley coming from under the bonett not the wheel.

Thanks though.

If it's doing it while parked and in gear, it's not a wheel bearing.

If you've got an e-brake you could theoretically leave it in drive and poke your head in- but I'd start with taking a peek at the serpentine belt- the one that runs the alternator.
If it's not a brandy-new belt, your mechanic did you wrong. You don't replace something on that belt and not replace the belt, that's just silly.

Try this- in park, throw the high beams on, and the fan blower on high. If you hear a chirp or a squeal, it's either the alternator or the belt- and the extra electrical load is putting a strain on that alternator, making the belt slip. I have to replace the belt in my old toyota every year because of this nonsense. Drives me nuts, but at least its cheap and easy...

a reply to: nonspecific

Belts do stretch so you may just need to tighten them.

Pulleys sometimes go bad. When you are driving there is more torque put on an engine than in neutral so that may be why you don't get it in neutral.

Get a can of belt dressing and see if that gets rid of the noise if it does then just retighten the belts.

Or just tighten the belt a little because as I said they do stretch and you recently put a new alternator in.

a reply to: nonspecific

grimpachi gave you some good starting points. Did you change the belt when you changed the alternator? It may be dry and in need of change.

Does that belt also go through an idler pulley? If yes, then it may need an adjustment to remove or induce slack.

Worse case scenario your refurbished unit is shot and the pulley is damaged.

a reply to: lordcomac

Thanks for the input, I changed the alternator and belt myself so it should not be the belt, I tried turning everything on in neutral lights indicators, heaater , windscreen wipers and stero, still no squal.

I have just noticed the power steering fluid is low so hopefully I have found the problem.

a reply to: nonspecific

That could certainly cause the problem as it would stress the power steering pump and cause the pulley to slip.

originally posted by: nonspecific
The breakdown man said it was an alternator problem but I put a reconditioned on on the a couple of months ago.

There are a few things it could be. The belt tensioner could be getting weak causing your belt to squeal under load.

The belt could just be getting glazed and worn causing it to squeal when under load from slipping on a pulley. This can be remedied temporarily with a wire brush rubbed on the contact side of the belt or some belt conditioner spray (a little goes a long way).

I have had issues with reconditioned alternators in the past. If it isn't too much trouble take the alternator into a shop and have it tested. Could be something as simple as the alternator "locking up" under load.

a reply to: nonspecific

I just perused a tech forum on your engine make and someone had the same problem.

www.suzuki-forums.com...

Local expert said

Yeah the altenator belt usually needs to be readjusted after initial install!

originally posted by: nonspecific
I am no mechanic but am pretty handy around an engine but am a little bit stumped at the moment.

The car broke down the other day (2001 Suzuki ignis). The breakdown man said it was an alternator problem but I put a reconditioned on on the a couple of months ago.

Whilst driving there is a squaling coming from somewhere but not if the engine is revved in neatral. I can not figure out why the belt would squal in gear and not if in neatral and I can not figure out what is squaling as I dont want to hang onto the car with my head in the engine whilst driving.

Any ideas on what could be the problem?

If it is happening while driving check your wheel bearings and brakes. If it happens when driving or not and you are turning the steering wheel check you power steering pump and belts. If your voltage drops when you hear the noise, check your belts and your alternator. If it happens only when the engine is at temperature, check your belts and look for a water/antifreeze leak. Squealing normally has to come from moving parts that generally are rotating.

Cheers - Dave

Maybe you should replace the pig that is peddling the car.

An alternator belt sometimes squeels when you put the car in gear but won't when it is idling. Tightening the belt a little if there is an adjustment might help. If no adjustment, the bearing in the idler tentioner might be bad, they squeel when the bearings go out. I replaced a half dozen of those throughout the years, I used to take them off a car when I scrapped it so sometimes they were half wore out already

An intake manifold vaccuum leak will do that sometimes, but that is more of a hum than a squeel. An air conditioner pump can squeal too if the gas and lubricant has been leaked out for a while. That only squeals when you put on the airconditioner or the defrosters. The defrosters utilize the air to dry the air that hits the windshield sometimes. Other times there is a heater coil. Try turning off the heater and see if it still does it. Even a new alternator can have a bearing failure, it usually takes a few months though.

a reply to: nonspecific

low power steering fluid causes a moaning noise, especially when you turn the steering wheel. If the power steering fluid is really low, the steering wheel gets hard to turn.

a reply to: nonspecific

Belt squeal...different cycles low and high between in-gear and revved neutral...that why you hear it and then don't hear it.

Try belt spray and tightening the belt (or replace)***

***PS Look at power steering-both fluid and belt tension

a reply to: nonspecific
So there is no squealing at idle. If it does squeal at idle you could always take the serpentine belt off and run the engine just for a very short time. Also squirting with a squirt bottle some water on the belt If no noise it's the belt. Check all your filers in the belt path. Coud be the alternator Too.

a reply to: mysterioustranger

Do not put belt dressing on a serpentine belt.

I remember a cousin had the power steering cause a squeal once?

a reply to: nonspecific

At a guess if it not the belts needing adjustment it could be one of the pulleys are not sitting right ....

Do the pulleys have bearings ?....

Cars are such money pits .......