Cavalier Starting in the 1980s. the Cavalier made a name for itself by offering an affordable 2 and 4 door compact.
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Is my alternator suppose to sound like a super charger?

Old May 4, 2012 | 7:04 PM
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Default Is my alternator suppose to sound like a super charger?

ok so this new problem has occured today where my alt has this really strange super charger like sound and i dont know if its because i abused it with my stereo for so long or what. Any answers would be really nice.
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Old May 4, 2012 | 7:09 PM
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And if i have to buy a new alt is it bad to buy from ebay or should i run with napa?
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Old May 4, 2012 | 7:35 PM
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Probably the bearings going bad. You can buy from Ebay. They sell name brands as well as no name stuff. Be careful what you buy. You can get good name brand stuff at good prices on Ebay.
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Old May 4, 2012 | 8:03 PM
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Ok so i put a volt meter on it and at idle it does about 10 to 11V's or less and you have to keep on the gas to make it run right. In the upper end of the RPM's it will be at 13.5 or around that range of charging voltage. WTF is going on with it?
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Old May 4, 2012 | 8:42 PM
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How old is the battery. What shape is it in? How do the battery terminals and cables look like? Is there corrosion? Good connections?
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Old May 4, 2012 | 10:28 PM
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Originally Posted by mattintc
Ok so i put a volt meter on it and at idle it does about 10 to 11V's or less and you have to keep on the gas to make it run right. In the upper end of the RPM's it will be at 13.5 or around that range of charging voltage. WTF is going on with it?
It is broken.... You need a new one. Alternators fail all the time for no reason.
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Old May 5, 2012 | 1:47 PM
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Originally Posted by MDTAHOE
It is broken.... You need a new one. Alternators fail all the time for no reason.
So what happends if i push it further and make it charge the battery until it completly all around dies??
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Old May 5, 2012 | 1:49 PM
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Originally Posted by oldchevy
How old is the battery. What shape is it in? How do the battery terminals and cables look like? Is there corrosion? Good connections?
Dunno how old the batt is but it supposedly failed all test pretty badly and still 4 or 5 months later is cranking the car over. The connections are 1/0 from the alt to a distro block and then 1/0 to the battery and then 1/0 for engine ground and body ground and no corrosion.
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Old May 5, 2012 | 3:38 PM
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Originally Posted by mattintc
So what happends if i push it further and make it charge the battery until it completly all around dies??
You will need a tow truck
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Old May 5, 2012 | 5:52 PM
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and possibly more parts if it happens to seize and throw the belt
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