Rough idle, irratic voltage, damn squeak

[tiki240]

ok, i havea turbo timer so then i first turn on the car (as of the last 2 or 3 weeks its gotten cold outside) i read about 11.45-12.37 and normal voltage is between 13.87-14.08. i alos notice that even though the car is idling properly at 700 rpms the idle is rough and seems to skip a beat. the biggest problem.... a loud squeal that sounds like a belt. it felt loose so i tightened it. and now, still the same. belt dressing helps for about 1 day and then fails to work. i have a date tomorrow night and would like to resolve this issue. its embarrassing to drive my car like this even with the SR. while driving, ill get about 13.8 volts and when i stop, i drop to 12.4 (bounching all around) and the squeal will last till it gets back to 13.87+ volts. HELP. thanks for speed u guys.

[1998cc]

It sounds to be that the grooves in the alternator pulley are worn. When pulleys glaze over the belt tends to slip like that. The only way to fix it is get a new belt and pulley.

[tiki240]

any other ideas? anyone? id really like to remedy this. getting a new alt. pulley for the SR aint what i think it is. besides, motor aint that old.

[mbmbmb23]

Get a new alternator belt (SR20DE part: Gates K050370) and make sure none of the pulleys are cockeyed, otherwise they will slip and squeal.



-m

[tiki240]

why would i need a new belt? i only have had the sr runnin since sept. an the belt was new then...

[phatkorean]

It probably has to be something with either the belt or the pulley. I had the same problem with another car about a week ago. Well, it was fixed a week ago but the problem was long than that.

Whenever I started the car I'd get a squeak and the volts would dip. Whenever I pulled up to a stop light I'd get a squeak and the volts would dip. When the volts dipped the lights also dimmed. You see, the belt was slipping so much that I wasn't getting any charge from the alternator and was solely using battery power. When I started the drive the squeak would get louder and louder until I could hear the belt catch the pulley with a chirp and the volts would shoot up to the normal range and the lights would brighten. Lucky the problem was just a loose belt.

It sounds like a belt or pulley because you are still getting a charge from the alternator, right? The problem comes into play because of the squeak and the squeak is because for some reason the belt is slipping or grinding or SOMETHING!! If you are keen on this date, I'd just make sure the belt is good and secure and hope that it doesn't squeak so you can at least get through the night (or morning ;) ), then you can be free to take a more thorough look tomorrow.

[tiki240]

Thanks guys. now that its daylight, i have about 12 hour to catch this bastard problem. i will let you know what happens. ill tighten the belts and see if that does the trick. later guys./girls