Does your Alt. belt squeal ????
- Thread starter pcb
- Start date
How, exactly?
It's a change in current that is making your belt squeal. When you flip on your heater motor, head lights, or radio is when you're demanding the most current and creating torque which makes your belt squeal. And that's not something you can/should control. Those accessories need whatever current they demand.
It's a change in current that is making your belt squeal. When you flip on your heater motor, head lights, or radio is when you're demanding the most current and creating torque which makes your belt squeal. And that's not something you can/should control. Those accessories need whatever current they demand.
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A variable resistor should be able to reduce the output of the Alt. to the point where it stops squealing. It will draw more from the battery but shouldn't kill it.
True but I'm on my fourth alternator in four years,.. they all had been over tightened.
MazdaSpeeder
Member
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- Protege5 (5-spd)
This. You have to re-tighten belts after about two weeks, because they stretch. Also, if you allow a belt to squeal for any length of time, the slippage will graze the belt, and no matter how much you tighten it, it will continue to slip.
OP, have you tried other brands of belts? Reducing the voltage to the alternator doesn't seem like a very practical solution. If you're forcing the car to draw more from the battery than was intended, it seems like there might be other unintended consequences, like compromised battery life. I'm not trying to be a jerk, but this isn't a widespread problem, and no one has ever offered this solution. I would try another brand of belts and be careful about tightening and re-tightening before I messed with the electrical system.
tweety2300
Member
- :
- 2001 mazda protege mp3
Then the solution is simple don't over tighten the belt. Basically what you're trying to do is not going to work. If anything you will burn up more or damage your ecu
If the belt has already been squealing because you don't know how to properly adjust it you will have to get another one, adjust it properly and go on about your day.
And if you do eventually do this for whatever reason make sure your car goes to junk yard rather than some poor unsuspecting buyer having to deal with it
I don't think you should continually tighten the belt. There are tension specifications for a reason. It's a poorly designed system, other cars do not have this problem. I'd rather deal with belt squeal (by simply temporarily shutting off accessories) than deal with overloaded bearings.
So are you going to try this resistor idea out?
So are you going to try this resistor idea out?
So are you going to try this resistor idea out?
yes I am,...
I need cheese helmets help,...
I just bought a junker,...
It was -27 C during this past week here,...
They call it the polar vortex,...
I'm selling it to Tweetie for $4000 after I blow it up,...
I like to know how things work,... I don't learn the hard way either
yes I am,...
I need cheese helmets help,...
I just bought a junker,...
It was -27 C during this past week here,...
They call it the polar vortex,...
I'm selling it to Tweetie for $4000 after I blow it up,...
I like to know how things work,... I don't learn the hard way either
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tweety2300
Member
- :
- 2001 mazda protege mp3
Many manufactures use this system. Honda, mazda, ford, toyota etc system works very well when the belts are adjusted properly
Because they have a serpentine belt and some pulleys they're the same? There's more to engineering than proof of concept, but apparently Mazda- as with many other things on this car- didn't go beyond that. The fact that there are hundreds of other models out there with similar set ups that don't have this issue doesn't help their case. It just goes to show how much [lack of] effort Mazda put into this car. BTW, adjusting the belt to the correct tension doesn't fix the issue.
Bottom line, if this weren't a design issue there wouldn't be umpteen threads about it.
Bottom line, if this weren't a design issue there wouldn't be umpteen threads about it.
tweety2300
Member
- :
- 2001 mazda protege mp3
I don't understand what the issue is. I never had a problem. Only a few people seem to have issue which makes it seem more like operator error
What exactly is the design issue you're speaking of?
What exactly is the design issue you're speaking of?
I remember reading somewhere in the manual that you have to adjust the tension after you ran the belt for a little bit, correct me if I am wrong though.
Furthermore, as has been mentioned before, try a different belt brand. Could the tensioner be letting go?
Furthermore, as has been mentioned before, try a different belt brand. Could the tensioner be letting go?
you a corrupt, i mean correct lol. i use dayco belts and have for years without issues, so getting a different brand maybe the solution. gates and dayco are both well respected brands. and yes his tensioner could be getting old and failing. its definitely worth checking as well
There is no tensioner... the alternator is pivoted to tighten or loosen the belt.. The manual suggests this should be done with the engine cold.. 6.5mm to 7.5mm of deflection for a new belt, or 7.0mm to 9.0mm for a used belt. It doesn't say, but my impression from reading this is that they are assuming the new belt will stretch to the 7.0 to 9.0 range and this shouldn't need to be re-done if performed according to these instructions. If I were to follow this to the letter, I'de get an OEM belt just in case...
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Now that my photos and paint are working again, here's a pic...
In an effort to "reverse engineer" the circuit without blowing everything up, I've decided to "probe" the light green/white wire to see what kind of voltage is there and how it relates to ground and positive.
I don't have a scope but my multimeter should provide some good results.
As far as squealing belts go,... I went out and started my car at 3 am,... -23 C and it started with no squealing. I had all electrics off.
(boiling water from the microwave, turns to powder when you throw it in the air,... kinda cool)
I went back out at noon,.. it was much warmer out but with the headlights (DRL), fan, defrost and wipers going, it squealed and didn't stop when I shut everything off. That situation is exactly where I would love to hit a switch or dial to stop the squeal, then slowly turn it back.
Just to clarify,.. the four alternators were all before I got a computer, got on this site, got my learnin on, and started doing all my own servicing. (I hate to think how much money i wasted through my own ignorance and the auto repair industry's eagerness to take advantage of that.)
This is the alternator setup for our FS engine:
This is what I think our setup should look like.
Just a solid mounted idler wheel,... tentioned the same way.
CheeseHelmet
Member
I gotta agree with tweety2300 on this one, reducing the alternator field current is not a solution to this problem. You'll just end up draining your battery.
You need to address the root cause of the problem, either your belt is worn/insufficiently-tightened, the alternator is bad (4 alternators in 4 years suggests you're getting bad remans), or something is contaminating the belt/pulleys and causing the slippage.
I was having the same issue when I first bought my P5, the problem was an old and worn belt. I got a new belt (from Mazda) and haven't looked back since. I think I may have had to tighten it up a bit one time in the 3-4 years since I replaced it. Keep in mind that modern belts wear differently than belts of a couple decades ago. New belts won't necessarily show signs of cracking, instead the ribs in the belt will wear down over time until the belt cannot properly grip the pulley any more.
Case in point, I just replaced a squeaky PS belt on my toyota. By looking at it you'd swear it was in great shape, but by holding it up to a brand new belt it was clear that the ribs were almost half the height as the ones on the new belt!
You need to address the root cause of the problem, either your belt is worn/insufficiently-tightened, the alternator is bad (4 alternators in 4 years suggests you're getting bad remans), or something is contaminating the belt/pulleys and causing the slippage.
I was having the same issue when I first bought my P5, the problem was an old and worn belt. I got a new belt (from Mazda) and haven't looked back since. I think I may have had to tighten it up a bit one time in the 3-4 years since I replaced it. Keep in mind that modern belts wear differently than belts of a couple decades ago. New belts won't necessarily show signs of cracking, instead the ribs in the belt will wear down over time until the belt cannot properly grip the pulley any more.
Case in point, I just replaced a squeaky PS belt on my toyota. By looking at it you'd swear it was in great shape, but by holding it up to a brand new belt it was clear that the ribs were almost half the height as the ones on the new belt!
