I've always had belt squeal and lately it seemed worse than usual. The other day when I was driving the highway, I suddenly heard a chirping noise coming from the engine bay and saw voltage drop to around 10V. Every now and then (especially at lower speeds) the chirping would disappear and voltage would be normal.
The chirping sound is pretty much exactly like this sound:
Intermittent low voltage with noise sounds suspiciously like a bad bearing and/or brush in the alternator, but then I'm not familiar with that Fiero model in the video... :*)
I believe that when you get chirping/squealing the alternator is actually stopped. When this happened to my 85GT (with air) over the winter the volts and accessories would act like the alternator was unplugged and the engine would act like it had a major load. Then one day it started whining constantly. The next day the battery was dead. Since then it hasn't been driveable in the sense that, although it appears to be charging almost normally, the battery goes down dramatically, even using a disconnect when stopped, and on short trips. A couple years ago a CarX apparently over-tightened the belts. The awful sounds went away, but so did the a/c belt. I loosened the alternator holddown bolt, but not the pivot, in fact it's like that now. I was hoping it would loosen slightly on it's own. When the noise went away I thought it had, but more likely that was just the compressor bearing and belt giving up the ghost.
Someone pointed out that these squealing problems may be primarily electrical, not mechanical. They installed a heavier gauge wire from the alternator to the dash light and that cured the problem for them. You might also look for loose connections, particularly at the alternator and junction block by the battery.
[This message has been edited by 85 SE VIN 9 (edited 10-12-2015).]
In the US some department stores (WalMart) use a tester that even prints results when you want to buy a battery. It checks charging as well as the battery. They insist on doing this for free. BTW, 10 volts sounds low. Maybe you do have a bad battery.
Yesterday I turned the ignition to ON, voltmeter gauge showed something around 10V-11V (which for my car is pretty normal). I tried starting the car and engine turned a few times very slowly. After that, the voltmeter showed around 7V. Please note this is the voltmeter in the car, not a multi-meter I hooked up or something. Trying to start the car again and the engine wouldn't even turn.
I took out the battery and hooked it up to my 10A charger. It only took 30 minutes for the battery to fully charge (it should take hours)! Put the battery back into the car and it started right up. Which is odd that only charging the battery for 30 minutes is the difference between engine not even turning and starting normally.
When I drive the car, The voltmeter sometimes displays around 14V, sometimes around 12V and sometimes it drops to 10V (as if the alternator is not charging at all).
So what's failing here? The alternator? The battery or both? The battery is an Optima battery and the short charging/discharging times indicate to me that perhaps some of the 6 cells have died. On the other hand, dropping voltages while driving indicates to me the alternator is failing.
It could be a bad cell, or it could be a charging issue. Since you have the Optima, does your charger support AGM batteries? If and old style charger, it will not properly charge the optima. It will look like it charged, but it isn't.
For others that might have the need for this info: To use an old style charger on AGM batteries, you have to hook it up in parallel with a standard Lead Cell battery that is already fully charged. I hook the standard battery to the Fiero Battery via jumper cables, and then attach the charger to the jumper cables at the Standard Battery. Let it charge until you get down to about a 2 amp charge rate ( assuming your charger is a 6 or 8 amp charger), and then you can remove the standard battery and finish the charge directly.
------------------ '87 GT in process, including GA / Seville brakes, Poly Suspension, '95 3800 Series 1 SC ( 225 hp ) T460e.
Our old wires draw a lot of current. Perhaps wiring is failing in areas? Usually near a positive lead at the terminals.
Like stated earlier, spin the alternator by hand, and feel for anything not perfectly smooth. Meaning, spin it slowly. A cheap stethoscope is great here.
What amps is your charger set to? 2 or 6? After overcharging a battery years back, I now make sure what rate my charger is on. OCD.
Sporadic issues rarely surface in a battery. No moving parts.
Unless you're after the bling factor, for $40(US) less you might be able to get THIS... just send them an email and see if they'll ship to you across the pond.
If you mentioned this I missed it, but how old is the battery? I'm leaning towards the battery at this point.
Edit: The reason I say that is belt chirp is very common in our cars. Mine comes and goes but however subtle. But my voltage remains consistent. I need to get around to getting one of the tensioners that a member has for sale here.
[This message has been edited by Jason88Notchie (edited 10-26-2015).]
I need to get around to getting one of the tensioners that a member has for sale here.
You may think that American Express was responsible for the slogan "Don't leave home without it". They weren't. It was Fiero 2.8 owners, referring to their Dodgerunner belt tensioner.
Originally posted by Cliff Pennock: Yesterday I turned the ignition to ON, voltmeter gauge showed something around 10V-11V (which for my car is pretty normal). I tried starting the car and engine turned a few times very slowly. After that, the voltmeter showed around 7V. Please note this is the voltmeter in the car, not a multi-meter I hooked up or something. Trying to start the car again and the engine wouldn't even turn.
I took out the battery and hooked it up to my 10A charger. It only took 30 minutes for the battery to fully charge (it should take hours)! Put the battery back into the car and it started right up. Which is odd that only charging the battery for 30 minutes is the difference between engine not even turning and starting normally.
When I drive the car, The voltmeter sometimes displays around 14V, sometimes around 12V and sometimes it drops to 10V (as if the alternator is not charging at all).
So what's failing here? The alternator? The battery or both? The battery is an Optima battery and the short charging/discharging times indicate to me that perhaps some of the 6 cells have died. On the other hand, dropping voltages while driving indicates to me the alternator is failing.
Is that's same battery that you posted a while back died when car in storage then charge at home? Battery very likely has a dead cell or 3 and is junk.
Dead cells are drawing allot of power from the alt and can make belt problems or even kill the alt. They create a "soft short circuit" that will dump all available current the alt/charger can make.
------------------ Dr. Ian Malcolm: Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should. (Jurassic Park)
The CS alternator was only used in '88. If you don't have an '88 it can be an upgrade, but you need an '88 pigtail or adapter.
I've been having these problems and following related threads all summer. "Loose connections" seem like the best place to start. Yesterday I found my junction block post on the firewall near the battery had a very loose nut. It's a seven millimeter largely hidden by the C500 box. The big nut (11mm) on the alternator and the voltage regulator plug (bottom of alternator pre-'88) are two more to check. The battery terminals and cables also could have deteriorated even while the car was sitting.
If you get a new alternator it will likely come with a warning to diagnose and repair any charging circuit problems you may have before installing the new part. The knee-jerk reaction is to replace the alternator, but chances are that won't be enough. There is another current thread ("alternator issues") where the OP is now looking to get a second new alternator. I'm on my third battery in less than three years. The first was an Optima.
Right now I'm going out to see what tightening the junction block nut did towards resolving issues. I'll bring back pictures. Good luck to us all!
Elation premature. 7mm was attachment screw. The junction was tight, rusty, hard to get at.
The top was 10mm, bottom 11. The bottom is connected to the positive battery post. The two posts shown are connected to each other. I can see this and someone mentioned it elsewhere on the forum. I would check to see if the posts have continuity with the battery at least.
[This message has been edited by 85 SE VIN 9 (edited 10-27-2015).]
I don't think that is belt noise. when my 85gt was making that noise it was bad WP bearings. So I'd sure check out WP and ALT bearings. The low voltage could be the key. On my 85 I did the CS conversion listed in the cave and other links which was a very easy swap. Swapped pulleys, soldered on the pig tail (two wires) and off it went. As I recalled I just walked into the parts store and asked for an 87 GM pickup Alt. and looked it over per the cave link. http://home.comcast.net/~fi.../wombatcs/csalt2.htm
[This message has been edited by Dodgerunner (edited 10-28-2015).]
I don't think that is belt noise. when my 85gt was making that noise it was bad WP bearings. So I'd sure check out WP and ALT bearings.
At first I thought it might be the WP as well. But if the sound disappears, charging voltage is normal. And when the sound returns, voltage drops. Considerably.
I also have the curious intermittent voltage readings, but if that's due to loose connections I haven't found them yet.
I'm driving more and maybe having fewer problems. Maybe this is something that sort of lurks, but can be lived with if you use the car regularly. Besides the noise the only thing unusual is a ten-amp draw that's not going through the fuse box. Maybe with a strong enough battery and daily use something like that just doesn't get in the way. Left idle or otherwise run down the charging system at least has a hard time catching up. Perhaps a PO installed the Optima because they couldn't figure out what was drawing the battery down.
There is something about current going through the coolant when the latter gets to a certain age. But mine has a leak so I believe it has relatively new coolant even though it hasn't been flushed in at least three years.
[This message has been edited by 85 SE VIN 9 (edited 10-31-2015).]
I'm most likely going in the wrong direction. I seemed to be doing that a lot lately. But the noise on the IS is most likely from a slipping overrun clutch on the alternator. It is in the middle of the alternator pulley under that plastic cover. It acts as a one way clutch and supposed to "grab" only on acceleration and load. When you let off the throttle, it allows the alternator to free spin. See these fail at great deal on Japanese cars. However if we are talking about a Fiero. Rare occasions the nut on the pulley can come just loose enough to cause the same affect. Will only allow for minimal charging and the light will act normal.
I have replaced the battery and the problem remains. Even though the Optima battery turned out to be as good as dead. I had the garage replace the belt and now the belt no longer squeals, but the problem is still there. I hear a different noise now, more like a rattle. I will try to record it and post it here.
Oh and BTW, if it turns out I will need a new alternator, will this one work?
rattle? If you have AC, check that also. You can pull the belt off and see if the noise goes away. I had a Grand Prix that rattled and it was the AC pulley (AC didn't even work).
rattle? If you have AC, check that also. You can pull the belt off and see if the noise goes away. I had a Grand Prix that rattled and it was the AC pulley (AC didn't even work).
At first I thought it might be the WP as well. But if the sound disappears, charging voltage is normal. And when the sound returns, voltage drops. Considerably.
Intermittent charging current sounds like a poor connection, most likely at older, sticking alternator brushes (which can be exacerbated by worn Alt bearings), but you might check the wiring from the Alt to Battery first to eliminate that possibility..
[This message has been edited by Rexgirl (edited 06-10-2016).]
Although that alternator looks similar I would like to see at least Fiero specifically listed. There is one that is similar but won't work due to how it works electrically. See Ogre's cave.
