bad alternator squeeling

[budahbuddy803 10+ year member]

I have an 89' oldsmobile cutlass with a stock electrical system, except for a new battery. The alternator is 17 years old and i am not going to have this car for much longer. Whenever i crank the car up, sometimes the alternator will squeel until the battery is at about 13.6 volts and then it will quit. I have a 3 farad cap. and everything is hooked up correct, but sometimes with a constant note the battery will drop all the way to 12.6( the lowest i have ever seen it do) and the alt. will squeel until i turn the volume down. (This only occurs within the first 5-10 minutes this car is cranked up and driven.) After i turn it down i can turn it back up and it wont squeel anymore.

I have sometimes when it never makes a noise and sometimes when it does it about 3 times. Is there any cheap fix for something like this besides the "big 3"? I do not want to replace the alt. or upgrade the alt. because i dont think i will have this car much longer. Any ideas? Planning on trying the big 3 this week whenever i get a free couple of minutes. thanx

Click to read more...

 

[Lakota 5,000+ posts]

I think it's about on it's last leg...