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Alternator Clicking Noise - Again!

accord_n22

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Honda Accord I-CTDI
HI Guys,

It seems I am getting the bearing clicking noise again, however everything has been revised.

Brand new Genuine Honda alternator fitted Dec 2014
New short Genuine Honda belt and revised routing Dec 2014.

New alternator has done approx 100k miles since fitted in 2014.

Or could it be just the mileage I have covered? Surely the bearings would have lasted longer?

Might go for remanufactured alternator this time

Just wondering if anyone has had the alternator bearings go bad again after replacing the alternator and shorter belt routing?
 
accord_n22 said:
HI Guys,

It seems I am getting the bearing clicking noise again, however everything has been revised.

Brand new Genuine Honda alternator fitted Dec 2014
New short Genuine Honda belt and revised routing Dec 2014.

New alternator has done approx 100k miles since fitted in 2014.

Or could it be just the mileage I have covered? Surely the bearings would have lasted longer?

Might go for remanufactured alternator this time

Just wondering if anyone has had the alternator bearings go bad again after replacing the alternator and shorter belt routing?
I thought the revised belt should not make this problem occur again? I'm sure it should last longer than that, the anti friction bearing should have life expectancy upto 40,000 hours but stop start can effect the life span.
 
I thought the revised belt should not make this problem occur again? I'm sure it should last longer than that, the anti friction bearing should have life expectancy upto 40,000 hours but stop start can effect the life span.
Yeah I thought so too, unless it is something else. The clicky type sound is pretty much the same when the alternator was going way back in 2014.
It disappears during the week and seems all ok but when the car is not sued over the weekend, Monday morning you can hear it slightly and then it disappears on my long commute.

I do have alot of start stop on the m25 but nothing too heavy for the car I dont think.


I guess I will have to monitor it and perhaps remove the belt when I get some time to feel the idler bearing and alternator bearings to see if they feel rough or anything.

Can the one way clutch pulley get damage quite easily on these?
 
The clutch pulley is a common problem. It is a good idea to take the belt off and check the idler bearing.
 
The clutch pulley is a common problem. It is a good idea to take the belt off and check the idler bearing.
Ahh I thought so. I will try get the belt off check and go from there.
Cheers
 
The clutch pulley is a common problem. It is a good idea to take the belt off and check the idler bearing.
Managed to remove the belt using the crow bar method.
The tensioner is really tough to move. haha. Just about got it back on. haha.

It seems that the idler tensioner pulley has abit of play in it and has a quite worn bearing but really the cause of the clicking.
The power steering pulley feels smooth with no play.
https://youtu.be/_5OTxWqHFHI
Will look to replace the idler pulley as preventative maintenance.

The alternator does feel smooth with no play too, with the belt back on and the engine running the clicking sound is definitely coming from the alternator.
Exact same clicking sound when it occurred back in 2014 and along with other YouTube videos of the same issue.
https://youtu.be/qBEHkmncrrA

Pretty disappointing, as it goes to show that the stressed out alternator bearing issue still persists regardless of the short belt routing.
Most likely Honda never anticipated owners will keep their cars for this long, and the revised belt routing was a quick fix solution at the time.
 
Whilst I have now got the shorter belt in reserve, I've not as yet gone down that route.
Currently on 160k give or take 1k.
 
Whilst I have now got the shorter belt in reserve, I've not as yet gone down that route.
Currently on 160k give or take 1k.
Wow, you been running the long belt version and extra pulley all this time and its still fine?
 
Hi, I have just fitted a refurb alternator after an original honda one developed an awful clicking grinding noise. I will see how long this refurb lasts, one thing I noticed is there is a hell of a tension on the alternator pulley even with the shorter belt. Will see how it goes, refurb cost 85 off fleabay with 12 months guarantee.
 
Sometimes alternator clicking can be down to a tired battery, which could tie in with it being worse on a Monday.
 
rob88 said:
Hi, I have just fitted a refurb alternator after an original honda one developed an awful clicking grinding noise. I will see how long this refurb lasts, one thing I noticed is there is a hell of a tension on the alternator pulley even with the shorter belt. Will see how it goes, refurb cost 85 off fleabay with 12 months guarantee.
'Hell of a tension', not a good start. Are you certain you have a belt with the correct dimensions ?

I've always adjusted things under the bonnet (of other cars) so the squealing doesn't start when the lights are on (and air con if fitted ) at idle on a cold morning.

Anything more is a recipe for disaster.
 
Channel Hopper said:
'Hell of a tension', not a good start. Are you certain you have a belt with the correct dimensions ?

I've always adjusted things under the bonnet (of other cars) so the squealing doesn't start when the lights are on (and air con if fitted ) at idle on a cold morning.

Anything more is a recipe for disaster.
Hi, it's definitely the correct belt, was fitted by Honda along with a new engine, I will double check.
I just found the tensioner pulley extremely hard to budge and the actual tension on the belt a lot. Obviously designed this way and it now runs great. It just made me wonder what the pressure on the alternator would do over time.
I shall see how this cheap eBay alternator fairs over the next year.
 
Just an update and to close this thread.

Alternator now replaced and purchased one from this seller on ebay "alternator-startermotor"
I returned my old one on their exchange process.

The alternator clutch pulley was the problem again.


https://www.ebay.co....353.m1438.l2649


All fitted and running well so far, I have done over 1000 miles since 21-12-2019.
 
Sometimes alternator clicking can be down to a tired battery, which could tie in with it being worse on a Monday.
I recon I killed my alternator after 10 years (replaced in 2015 by Honda, a £500 ouch) because I forgot that batteries do not last 10 years. The alternator was working overtime.
 
Does this means that the battery is not charging all the the time and if the battery is topped up the regulator stops the alternator from changing the battery ?
 
Does this means that the battery is not charging all the the time and if the battery is topped up the regulator stops the alternator from changing the battery ?

This will eventually happen but you will get that tale tale sign of a clicking noise way before it stops charging and any other catastrophic failure.

I drove around 6,000 mile with the clicky alternator and then it just gave out and I was driving for a long period time without the battery being charged. The battery eventually became flat and so the electrics started to fail within the car. It does show it can handle quite abit of mileage before the one way clutch bearing does fail though.

It was my fault for ignoring the signs the 2nd time round, I had alot going on and was going to replace after Christmas but as sods law, it failed before that.

As soon as you hear the clicky alternator make plans for its replacement asap.
 
Hi accord_n22,

Thanks for getting back to me.

What I meant was, during normal operation of the car the alternator will not have to provide the same current all the time...for instance if you turn on your lights or the cooling fans turn on etc, the alternator will be asked more or less current according to what the loads are tuned on.

Now here is my question, would this afect the alternator pulley noise diferently? i.e. the more current you drain the more noisy it gets? and possibly resulting in you only earing the noise under certain current drain conditions and not all the time?

Thanks
 
The reason why I ask is because the noise I ear is only there after the engine warms up....
 
Yes, though most issues do start with a cold engine.

If you are commuting to work in the dark, or under hot conditions where the air conditioning is required, the alternator has to work harder.

As will if you have an aftermarket in car entertainment system installed (or HIDs / neons / CB rig etc.)
 
Thanks by geting back to me...

I think I will have the main test of removing the belt and see if the noise is still there to separate the waters and realize if this is from the engine or from the belt/pulleys and it is very hard to understand why is it only doing it when warm...

Having spent a considerable amount of time and ££ on it, I really would like the car to get back to life as it should...
 
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