Alternator Belt Squealing Under 14 Volts

[SimonTuffGuy]

Alright... I've had this problem since I got the car up and running... I recently hooked up my volts gauge to figure out what's going on...

If the car runs under 14 volts, the alternator belt will squeal. As soon as I hit 14 volts, it stops... (that includes revving the engine to make it charge to 14v)

What do I do to stop this? The same thing happens in my Jeep. It's really annoying and pretty embarrassing.

[Big_P]

Is the belt cracked or glazed? Replace it. If not, tighten it.

But first;

pull the belt off and make sure that the alternator spins freely as well as any other things that may be running off the belt (idler pulley, etc).

[SimonTuffGuy]

What if those items wouldn't spin freely? Just spray some lube in there to get it moving? It's my GUESS that the belt might be glazed. I know that my Jeep definatly should be replaced because it's glazed and cracking.

Not 100% sure about the Festy belt. I just know that it's going to be a big PITA with that BP sitting so close to the passenger side. :x

[Quickslick4444]

Since day one I have been in your situation. But my problem is the alternator bracket is a little bent.

[freshtiva]

Spray some belt dressing on it and see if it stops. If that fixes it you might need a new belt.

[packrat427]

Mine started doing that , so I replaced it with the best Gates belt and it still squealed , so I kept tightening it till it quit doing it , then from the over tightening , it broke the center of my water pump pulley out , in the middle of Kansas (no where) .

So DO NOT over tighten it .

Now that I am back home mine still squeals for a sec. when first started .

My next idea is to take some med grit sand paper , and rough up the belt surface on all the pulleys , to remove the slick glazed surface .

[SimonTuffGuy]

I'm running a lightened pulley, which I think may also be helping it squeal... The belt itself looks fine though, so I dunno...

I've heard that "belt dressing" stuff is only a real temporary fix to what could be a bigger problem. I may just replace the belt to see if that helps and I'll keep looking for answers.

[freshtiva]

I suggested the belt dressing as a temporary fix to determine if the belt was slipping rather then a bearing going bad.

[SimonTuffGuy]

I'll stop by the autoparts store over my lunch and see what I can do...

[WmWatt]

Usually belts chirp, bearings squeal.
Probably because belts slip and grab, slip and grab,...
Overtightening a belt can burn out bearnings.
The Haynes manual shows the alternator belt deflection for correct tension. Sorry, I'm using the computer at the public library so don't have my Haynes manual handy.

[mechanicaldj]

go and get a Goodyear belt, they tend to run quieter than most belts

[SimonTuffGuy]

Hit it with some spray and it made it quiet... I hit rain yesterday and had squeeling again.

I'm going to say it's the belt at this point (just because it ran 100% with no squeeling prior to the rain).

[25Horseplay]

I agree with Mechanicaldj, get good one like a Goodyear or Gates.

[packrat427]

Like I said earlier I put a new Gates on mine before and it still squealed .

Now it has another new Gates on it and it still squeals .

I am going to take the med grit sand paper and just rough up the V- groove on all the pulleys .