Squeaky cold starts - alternator

Dezmoand · Post by **Dezmoand** » Thu Jul 10, 2008 7:22 am

I have a 2004 1.2 12v which squeaks on cold starts. These squeaks increase with engine speed but completely disappear after 30 seconds to a minute. I thought it was the drivebelt so I changed that but this only stopped it for a few hundred miles. So out of curiosity, I took the belt off and hand wound the pulleys and found the culprit. It was the alternator.. Is this normal for a 3 1/2 year old car with 24000 miles on the clock? And although the noise is a bit jarring to the ear first thing in the morning, can I leave it alone or does this mean i need a new alternator?

I heard another polo accelerating away from me the other day with the same noise, so I assume it is not uncommon. Anyone else here encountered this?

Dezmoand · Post by **Dezmoand** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 12:59 am

help? anyone...?

RUM4MO · Post by **RUM4MO** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 1:01 pm

My wife has a 2002 1.4SE Polo with 55,000 miles and its okay - if your battery is dying, then after a cold start, the alternator will have a lot of work to do - this will lead to it making more noise. You have not been "doing" a lot of short runs have you? If none of the above applies, then I'd get a battery test carried out before changing the alternator.

Dezmoand · Post by **Dezmoand** » Thu Jul 17, 2008 7:54 pm

hmmm, i've been doing a lot of motorway miles of late, but will check the battery..

will update if i find a solution

thanks!

RUM4MO · Post by **RUM4MO** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 8:19 am

Right so you are not doing short journeys, so do you have a high powered ICE amplifier fitted, why I am saying this is because the 1.2 will probably be fitted with a low rated alternator and smallish battery? Can you check the water level or is the battery sealed?

Dezmoand · Post by **Dezmoand** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 4:02 am

No, I've been back and forth from bristol a couple times over the past month which is a 130 miles from my home. Although I have been making urban journeys, mostly at night and nothing less than 5 miles at a time. I have no ICE other than the factory fitted beta stereo. I checked the battery, it's sealed but there is a little indicator which is currently green - I assume that means that it's fine.

What do you reckon? I've had my eye on a few alternators under the 100 mark on ebay that supposedly fit my car... I'm tempted..

RUM4MO · Post by **RUM4MO** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 7:47 am

I don't know why I should be saying this if the truth were told, but I would be very wary about buying an unknown used or reconditioned alternator from ebay. I think that it would be easier to get a battery depot to "load check" your battery - any thing is that if your battery was really duff then you would have noticed the electric power steering warning light coming on if you needed lots of steering input which the battery was low. After that get the alternator checked for performance. If you spin any alternator it will sound a bit squeaky - its just the way the brushes etc touch the commutator. One last thing, have you checked the belt tensioner pulley - it could be this that is causing the noise. The problem with alternators is that unless you get exactly the same one as currently fitted then you might need to buy a new pulley (don't know if this is true of VAG cars) and/or change the wiring a bit - I'm still trying to put you off buying possibly the wrong thing!!

Dezmoand · Post by **Dezmoand** » Thu Jul 24, 2008 4:24 am

Don't worry, I think I'll hold off buying the alternator. My battery has been alright, no power steering lights under load etc... Any idea how to change the tensioner pulley? I have a haynes manual but it doesnt cover that, and is it back to the dealers to get a new one? Can't find it on ECP or GSF website..

By the way, I appreciate the advice you've given me.

Thank you!

RUM4MO · Post by **RUM4MO** » Thu Jul 24, 2008 7:39 am

Dezmoand wrote:Don't worry, I think I'll hold off buying the alternator. My battery has been alright, no power steering lights under load etc... Any idea how to change the tensioner pulley? I have a haynes manual but it doesnt cover that, and is it back to the dealers to get a new one? Can't find it on ECP or GSF website..
By the way, I appreciate the advice you've given me.
Thank you!

I'd only buy that part from a dealer just in case its been upgraded, by the way check the price first because I think that you will find that these bits are quite expensive - and that goes for any modern car, by if that is what is faulty then that is what you need to buy - maybe buy the fixing bolt(s) as well - just in case. Have you tried removing the belt to see if the tensioner is goosed. The thing is, that removing the belt etc might let the tensioner fall to bits - so maybe buy it first and if its not needed return it unused.