tightening alternator belt...AC makes squeak

[lotas 10+ year member]

hey guys---thanks for any help in advance, and thanks for reading

I replaced my stock honda alternator with a new 180amp high output alternator. This was to accomodate my audio equipment.

Now when I start the car its fine, but if I turn on the AC, I get this screeching/squeaking noise. Now I THINK this means the belt is too loose? If not what is causing this?

But if it does mean the belt is not tight enough, how can I go about tightening it? Thanks a lot for the help.

by the way, its a 1999 Honda Accord EX

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[req 5,000+ posts]

first - you might wanna look into getting a new belt.

then, make sure your alt is aligned and theres no wabble, and its lined up all good.

then, maybe you could get some sandpaper and rough up the grooves in the alternator channel? it might be slipping.

 

[netherland24 5,000+ posts]

that could be manythings, your belt, or the tensioners. it could be going out.

 

[lotas 10+ year member]

k ill pick up a new belt and ill see how it goes

 

[deadboi77 10+ year member]

Also you could try something my friends n I like to callriming the belt:soon as you get the new belt on and right tightness,try taking a regular bar of soap,while the car is running,find a good open spot so you dont get your hands ripped off and up the bar of soap on the inside of the belt and let it run for about 10 seconds.use a good pair of long nose pliyers if you have any to help hold the bar.done it for years and work everytime.

 

[digital mint 10+ year member]

any follow up on this? i have the exact same problem! same brand(honda) and alternator! what did you do? did the soap bar fixed it? and who ever mentioned about the soap, does it have to be on a brand new belt?

 

[digital mint 10+ year member]

after i re-read the original post now i realize that my problem is different than describe above. what i'm hearing is more like clicks or ticks (some relays?) coming it seems from my dashboard. it seems the more things i turn on the more frequent the clicks. i know my belt is tight enough so what should i investigate first? i really appreciate the help. thanks in advance.

 

[digital mint 10+ year member]

i could realy use some advice. thanks

 

[robo303]

I have a serpentine belt that squeak in a very high pitch noise. Replace the tensioner and the belt last year. Worked for a while, but it squeaked again. Meanwhile my alternator happened to go bad, so took it to a different shop, they replace the alternator, the belt and the tensioner again,. But it still squeaked. Took it back to the same shop, they put in yet another new belt (free this time), but it still squeaks.

I can feel that the belt is very tight. But I detect that the noise comes from my power steering which is right next to the new alternator they put in. Could it be it because they are misaligned? How can it be fixed?

 

[btmorris972 10+ year member]

i had an old blazer that use to squeek like that. i just went to autozone and bought a can of belt dressing (i think thats right) it worked for me

my 2 cents

 

[Nightskye 10+ year member]

I'm only going to reply if you post pics of your trunk like you promised //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

 

[ieatdrt 10+ year member]

The belt may also be too tight. New belt, proper tension, and some belt dressing. Make sure everything's straight and aligned. Good Luck

 

[ballstothewall 10+ year member]

Could be it dosen't have enough wrap around the AC Compressor. We just replaced belts on a 425hp Cat (opps, semi engine...lol) and re positioned the alt. a little bit so there was more rap around the AC pulley, and no more AC squeek.

Later

-Ryan

 

[ighettoboyi 10+ year member]

make sure you're torqued to specs