Have you noticed a strange whirring noise coming from the interior or under the hood of your vehicle? Is the battery light on in your car or does your battery light come on and go off? While there are many things on your vehicle that can make a whirr noise one common cause could be your alternator.
What is an alternator?
Having an understanding of your alternator may help with understanding the noises it can make. Your alternator is the component that replenishes your vehicle’s electrical system. Your alternator is under your hood near the serpentine drive belt. Alternators keep your car in a positive state of charge as other components consume electricity. Alternators are driven by belts, using the rotating force of the engine to make them work.
Here are three possible causes for an alternator making a whirring noise:
Worn out or faulty bearings.
Alternators use at least two sealed bearings to make its internal parts spin smoothly. A sign of worn alternator bearings would be a metallic grind or whir noise. If listening under the hood the noise should be coming from the belt side of the engine.
Internal alternator issues.
Internal electrical components of an alternator can fail. In the event of an internal electrical failure of an alternator not only is a dull whir noise present but often a sweet burning smell. If you hear a whir noise from your engine and smell a sweet burn smell that is a possible sign of a failed alternator.
Electrical interference from the charging system.
A sign of electrical interference from your vehicle charging system could be a whir noise from the inside of your cabin. An electrical failure in the charging system is causing interference in your speakers. This noise is characterized by an almost cartoon-like whirr. In some instances this noise is caused by internal problems in your alternator causing it to give incorrect output.
Noises should never be overlooked, noises often are an early warning sign of what could turn into a bigger problem. Let the mechanics at Tim’s take a listen and a look to identify what could be going on with your vehicle.
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