HELP! Car Started Making a Loud Whine...

[tortillasoup]

ok, here's what happens...

i put the car in neutral and step on the gas, minimal whine... gets worse at higher rpms, though.

i put the car in park and step on the gas, minimal whine... gets worse at higher rpms, though.

i put the car in drive and step on the gas, there's a loud whine that gets louder as the rmp increases.

i have a 2000 volvo s40. what is the problem and will this cost a lot to fix?

Run an alternator test... Go to autozone or some place like that and have them do a free alternator test on the car. First test the alternator with no electrical loads running, see if it passes. If it passes, then try upping the electrical load by turning on something like the high beams, and the blower fan to max speed (don't turn on the A/C). If it passes under these conditions as well, then maybe it's something else.

Another thing to keep in mind is to try to turn on the high beams, cycling them on and off and see if it changes the pitch of the whine. If it does, it's likely your alternator. An alternator with failing diodes will create a whining noise that sounds similar to a supercharger.

 

[eits]

Run an alternator test... Go to autozone or some place like that and have them do a free alternator test on the car. First test the alternator with no electrical loads running, see if it passes. If it passes, then try upping the electrical load by turning on something like the high beams, and the blower fan to max speed (don't turn on the A/C). If it passes under these conditions as well, then maybe it's something else.

Another thing to keep in mind is to try to turn on the high beams, cycling them on and off and see if it changes the pitch of the whine. If it does, it's likely your alternator. An alternator with failing diodes will create a whining noise that sounds similar to a supercharger.

i'll try that. something i did notice today for the first time is that when i turned my car on, it whined a little as the engine fired up and then died down right after. is that an rpm thing?

 

[tortillasoup]

i'll try that. something i did notice today for the first time is that when i turned my car on, it whined a little as the engine fired up and then died down right after. is that an rpm thing?

The noise can definitely be RPM dependent and the charging system may work slightly better at cold start than when it's warmed up with the lower idle speed. Just imagine a car on the highway with a suspension problem or unbalanced wheel. Car may vibrate or run poorly at certain speed but not others. Certain battery chargers have the ability to do an alternator test. One way I checked my system was to use an OBD-II reader and read the voltage readings, seeing if they were falling below 13.2v during idle with no electrical load and then with electrical load.

 

[eits]

The noise can definitely be RPM dependent and the charging system may work slightly better at cold start than when it's warmed up with the lower idle speed. Just imagine a car on the highway with a suspension problem or unbalanced wheel. Car may vibrate or run poorly at certain speed but not others. Certain battery chargers have the ability to do an alternator test. One way I checked my system was to use an OBD-II reader and read the voltage readings, seeing if they were falling below 13.2v during idle with no electrical load and then with electrical load.

the mechanic hooked up an obd-ii tester to the car to discover the cylinder 1 misfire... didn't say anything about the alternator.

 

[the DRIZZLE]

well, there was a hose that broke for my turbo and that's why it didn't work before. i was told by a mechanic that it'd be fine to drive and i just won't get use of my turbo... then he fixed it after a few months of me putting it off and the turbo worked fine again... but then, this happened about a week later.

If there was an air leak on the compressor output side of the turbo I would think that could cause it to overspin and and kill the bearings.

 

[tortillasoup]

the mechanic hooked up an obd-ii tester to the car to discover the cylinder 1 misfire... didn't say anything about the alternator.

A misfire being detected in the cylinder shouldn't cause a whine and also an OBD-II tester is not going to tell if you if you have a failing alternator. Only when the alternator has completely or entirely failed (voltage is so low that the battery light comes on) could it possibly trigger a check engine code, if that. There is a lot of leeway between having a problem and no check engine code and having that check engine code. It's also possible you do have a failing turbo/burning oil AND a bad alternator.

Check your power steering reservoir and see if any fluid has been leaking out. A common issue on these volvos is for the fluid to leak out of the reservoir, damaging the alternator right below it. (At least on the Volvo S60 that is)

 

[eits]

A misfire being detected in the cylinder shouldn't cause a whine and also an OBD-II tester is not going to tell if you if you have a failing alternator. Only when the alternator has completely or entirely failed (voltage is so low that the battery light comes on) could it possibly trigger a check engine code, if that. There is a lot of leeway between having a problem and no check engine code and having that check engine code. It's also possible you do have a failing turbo/burning oil AND a bad alternator.

Check your power steering reservoir and see if any fluid has been leaking out. A common issue on these volvos is for the fluid to leak out of the reservoir, damaging the alternator right below it. (At least on the Volvo S60 that is)

no one said it did. i was just saying that was what he found based on what the tester said and why i needed new spark plugs.

however, i do know that my battery has been getting pretty weak and it's only a couple years old. the mechanic said that i have a short somewhere that's killing my battery. he recharged it, but i used to constantly need a jump from stranger for about a month and a half a month ago (before he charged my battery back up).

also, when i roll up one window, it goes up fine, but if i roll up another window while rolling up another window, they slow down as they go up. figured it was the battery.

maybe it's the alternator after all.

 

[FuzzyDunlop]

also, when i roll up one window, it goes up fine, but if i roll up another window while rolling up another window, they slow down as they go up. figured it was the battery.

maybe it's the alternator after all.

This is normal even for a fully charged battery.

 

[LTC8K6]

This is normal even for a fully charged battery.

Is he talking about with the engine running?

With the engine running, my windows don't slow down even if I do all 4 at once.

 

[eits]

Is he talking about with the engine running?

With the engine running, my windows don't slow down even if I do all 4 at once.

engine off or running... doesn't matter.

 

[brblx]

no, but every so often, there's a sound that reminds me of a circular saw hitting metal on metal or something.

did not notice this at first. this does not sound like a turbo, it sounds exhaust related (even moreso than before). that 'buzzsaw' noise could definately be a broken flex pipe.

http://www.buyautoparts.com/autoparts/Volvo/S40/Catalytic_Converter.html

it looks something like this guy, they're expensive because of that attached cat.

they usually break right at the rear of the mesh area. you can usually feel exhaust shooting towards the ground.

if the engine is making a normal amount of power, not smoking, and the intake is not coated with oil, i would doubt it's the turbo.

also those cars, 1) hate the shit out of aftermarket spark plugs and 2) have bad coils and wires just as often (if i remember right that's a two coil waste spark setup).

 

[brblx]

no one said it did. i was just saying that was what he found based on what the tester said and why i needed new spark plugs.

however, i do know that my battery has been getting pretty weak and it's only a couple years old. the mechanic said that i have a short somewhere that's killing my battery. he recharged it, but i used to constantly need a jump from stranger for about a month and a half a month ago (before he charged my battery back up).

also, when i roll up one window, it goes up fine, but if i roll up another window while rolling up another window, they slow down as they go up. figured it was the battery.

maybe it's the alternator after all.

and i just got to this. new mechanic, stat.

while a key-off draw could technically be called a 'short to power,' it shouldn't be. you could also have a ground circuit with a bad switching mechanism (and a lot of stuff is ground side switched on modern cars).

it's normal for the windows to slow, but not drastically. maybe they roll 25% slower with multiple switches engaged, as a random guess. if they're crawling, somethings wrong. could be electrical, could just be a binding track (silicone sprays lubes the world).

nor i or anyone can really diag your car without being there. as a guess, i say a simple electrical issue like a bad batt or cable, and a busted flex pipe. possible continuing misfire condition from still-bad coil or aftermarket plugs.

i would go in somewhere and have the battery, alternator, and cables tested. you may have a bad cable between the positive terminal and fusebox, that's common on the 5 cyls. can't remember seeing it as much on the 4 cyls, though. assuming there's nothing obvious (lights staying on) i usually check for a parasitic draw last. if you find one, it then usually just comes down to pulling fuses until you find which circuit is the culprit.

 

[eits]

oh, something i forgot to mention was that the mechanic mentioned to keep my eye open for smoke billowing out of my exhaust if i haven't noticed it already.

well, tonight, i stepped on the gas when the light turned green... there was a HUUUUUGE fucking wall of smoke that forced the cars behind me to change lanes in order to see anything whatsoever and drive. super dangerous, but i couldn't stop laughing in amazement and horror of what my car just did.

so, yeah... my car is burning oil and tons of smoke is billowing out of it.

as for the buzzsaw sound, he said that it's the little turbine in the turbo that's rattling while it spins and hitting the edges.

also, i just got my catalytic converter changed two years ago because a hole rusted through the titanium or whatever mesh.

 

[brblx]

shit- the one time i try to be optimistic.

ok, so you might need a turbo. they're not EASY to change, but not terrible. the 1.9 is probably the easiest motor for it (twin turbo I6 and the newer 'dual scroll' I6 are awful).

you might find one at a junkyard, those cars aren't that uncommon and also not that sought-after.

it's strange to have a turbo fail in the absence of oiling issues, though. regular synthetic oil changes should've been enough to keep it going. i honestly don't know if i've seen a turbo failure on that motor. it's usually the the 6 cylinders, especially the heavy-ass XC90.

edit- if you fix it, get a new oil supply line and make sure that the oil trap is clear (and sometimes fixing the oil trap isn't enough; you have to pull the oil pan to unclog the passages leading to it).