The Whistling Alternator!

[jbradsh1]

Yep, my alternator whistles according to my Pontiac dealer mechanic. Sounds more like a vacumn leak to me, does it only when cold, but since the 22K service it hasn't whistled anymore.

Thought I'd mention it to check out the validity of the "explanation". What say you Charlie?

[-Ray-]

This is a well known issue. Mine's done it since day 1.

[jbradsh1]

This is a well known issue. Mine's done it since day 1.

Thanks Ray. I feel a lot better now, but this is the first I've heard of it, oh well.

[G8GT721]

me too, i had someone ask me if i had a supercharger in it lol

[GRRRR8]

The battery charge level can cause this if the battery is weak or low. I have never had this issue, but I fave had a pulley since about 800 miles. Most with 08s will be putting a battery in this year.

[jbradsh1]

The battery charge level can cause this if the battery is weak or low. I have never had this issue, but I have had a pulley since about 800 miles. Most with 08s will be putting a battery in this year.

Thanks, good to know.

[PostalCherokee]

Mine's always done that. I will have to replace the battery? My 02 mustang had the factory battery in it when I traded it last year, should have kept that battery, lol

[GRRRR8]

Mine's always done that. I will have to replace the battery? My 02 mustang had the factory battery in it when I traded it last year, should have kept that battery, lol

I have changed mine as well as many others.

[PostalCherokee]

It will probably die on me then next month, I'm flying to CT and my car will sit for a week.

[PostalCherokee]

What kind did you replace with Charlie?

[GXPaycheck]

Mines done it since day one as well. Hot or cold. I use a trickle charger to keep the battery up when I'm on the road and that hasn't helped. I was playing around the other day trying to track down a whistle in my intake and put a mic in the intake box and hooked it up to my computer. The leak is in the intake but the electrical interference (whine) in the recording was horrible. I tried the same thing in my old truck and didn't get any.

[TA427]

Dont worry about the alternator whine,especially after startup,the alternator goes into one of six modes,After startup it goes into start up mode which basically lets the alt. put back what was just used to start the engine as fast as possible back into the battery,It is controlled by the body control module (BCM) for this.It is a very healthy alternator,I wish my T- Type spooled this fast at idle!

[PerfectD3]

So why is the G8 eating batteries instead of SRT8's? If the alternator is good shouldn't the battery have a longer life than 1 yr?

[jbradsh1]

So why is the G8 eating batteries instead of SRT8's? If the alternator is good shouldn't the battery have a longer life than 1 yr?

Should last 4 years, most cars have batteries that do. Unless it's a smaller one than normal (for the "in trunk" location) and so it doesn't last as long.

[Tommy G]

I often see charge voltages of over 15 volts. Over the winter when it got cold I could see charge levels at 50-60%, and sometimes see the alt charge as high as 15.5 volts. I just assumed that this is done because of voltage drop to a rear mounted battery and low charge levels. Could the high voltages be burning up batteries?

[fourthmeal]

I just had a thought...I wonder if there is a weak ground or power connection from the battery to the alternator or chassis, from the factory.

In the world of car audio (my world), any vehicle with weak connections is subject to an overworked alternator, an overworked battery, and a pretty unstable audio system. So to combat this, we often redo the grounds and power wires running in the critical areas, not just the audio system itself. I wonder if the cause of so much trouble is due to this. You could probably prove me right or wrong by running a 0 or 2 gauge wire from the alternator output to the battery directly, and measure the difference in voltage drop. My guess says it would be about a volt LESS than the stock setup. But, that's without owning one of these for the moment.

[TA427]

Perfect D3 tell me what you are experiencing,is it with your car or are you referring to the majority of G8's that are having battery failures,I have noticed that the original Delco batteries that come in new vehicles can range from months to 3+ years of service,While the replacement Delco batteries we replace them with give a much stable longer 3-5 years of service,After 27 years and counting with GM i can honestly say that if anyone replaces their original battery with another Delco you would be better off and for some reason the smaller 75 series batt. always outlast the bigger 78 series battery,Granted no one has batt cable issues,drains,short trips with underdrive pulleys etc. Hope this helps

['02 ws6]

Mine has just now started this. Looks like I need to buy a battery just in case.

[gearhead455]

So your telling me my 09' will need a battery next year? WTFMF? That is pure mother F%#@@%#* Bull sh%$!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[fourthmeal]

When I pick mine up, I'll do some research when time permits on the draws and drops in this system. I'm not willing to bet cash on it yet, but I am pretty sure there is a heavy voltage drop somewhere from the engine to the battery. Something that should be very easy to fix, mind you.

A Stinger battery will probably be good insurance as well. That or a Diehard Platinum.

[TA427]

Gearhead 455, you wont need a battery next year possibly at all, But whenever you do the replacement Delco lasts way longer than the original for some reason. I am told that batteries were like appliances,that there are only like 3 or 4 manufacturers of auto batteries in the USA, Anyone know anything about that ?

[fourthmeal]

Yes, there are not too many battery manufacturers out there. There's more than 4 but not by much. I used to work for SEARS / NTB back in the day. Exide and Johnson Controls were the big players about a decade ago in the states. Panasonic is big in Japan and other places, of course.

[95_9C1]

what kind of/model # battery do we use as a replacement?

does Optima make a battery for our cars?

[96Prix]

Is that what the whistling is when I roll into the throttle? I've noticed it mostly in 1st gear, but anytime I briefly tap the throttle it whistles for a second.

[-Ray-]

Yes. I have had my G8 since they 1st came out. Alt. whistled from the start. After talking to Charlie, I installed a UDP. For some reason I didn't have a reduction in the whistle.
I almost lost my battery over the Winter. I stored my G8 and waited too long before I charged it. When I brought my G8 out this Spring, the charge level was really low.
Now that I hit the streets with the car, the charge level is increasing. Last I checked the charge level was 74 percent. It had been as low as 32 percent.
Even recently my Atari Gauges have been showing a higher battery charge, even though my UDP has the alt spinning slower.

[WVG8GT]

My Alt Whine has reached a Boeing 737 takeoff sound when I am accelerating. Took it to a local garage today and their pontiac tech called and said, we ordered your a new alt dont know when its comming in but yours is whining something fierce.

[djo165]

Mine does the whistle at start up, but quiets down pretty quickly, like 5-10 seconds or so. I hear a slight whining sound when accelerating as well, but it's not too loud.

[irnwkrkev]

The quick fix is to get an exhaust that is louder at start-up! J/K, Mine howls pretty loud but disappears after a few moments. Think I'll try cleaning the grounds and connections.

[G8+6=fun]

I got one the whines at start up, then goes away until i get on the highway while doing around 70 75 I can hear a whine only when cruising when I tap the gas it goes away until i start staying a steady speed.

[JVH1982]

I get a whining noise to my right during aggressive driving...
after extended periods of aggressive driving, I occasionally experience a pain in my right shoulder as well.



Slowing down usually corrects the problem.

Apologies for the hi-jack, could resist the opportunity to lighten the mood.

[todds87ss]

I get a whining noise to my right during aggressive driving...
after extended periods of aggressive driving, I occasionally experience a pain in my right shoulder as well.



Slowing down usually corrects the problem.

Apologies for the hi-jack, could resist the opportunity to lighten the mood.

I could not help but notice that this was post number 69 for you. Lighten away!:woohoo:

[JVH1982]

I could not help but notice that this was post number 69 for you. Lighten away!:woohoo:

Heh... so it was. Go figure, right?

[QuoteWarz]

I have heard of a lot of my friends you get the whine and it is pretty annoying.

[Panzer Leader]

Point of clarification, is this problem limited to the GT? BTW, I have to ask, what tune is it whistiling?

[cwhite]

Holy crap... driving slowly up my driveway last night, less than 10mph, and pulled up on the two front window switches to make sure they were up all the way before parking the car for the night. Must have held them up a little longer than the car liked, the whine morphed into a squeal... way too much load on the electrical system, apparently. WTF?!

Reminds me of a buddy's mid-80's Citation back in high school... engine rpm played a tune through the speakers.

[gATE]

I took mine into the dealer for this issue and they said "Its normal". Alternator showed to be charging within specs so they didn't want to fix anything.

[mtolivecracker]

Point of clarification, is this problem limited to the GT? BTW, I have to ask, what tune is it whistiling?

This is not limited to the GT or the 08. My 08 GT did it, and my 09 GXP does it. Very annoying/embarrassing.

oh, and its not limited to the G8 either. listen to come vids of the Aussie Commodores on start up, same whistle.

[bigtreepu]

mine has done this since day 1 as well.

[SpeedRacerX]

Sorry to rehash this old thread but I have the cold startup whistle now pretty good. It's always been there to a small degree (as in, it would stop after 5 seconds) - now it seems to hang around until the car warms up.

At least I know it's normal, according to this thread.

Why would the whistle last longer than it used to? Alternator going? Battery going? I'm at 2 years and 8 months on both.

[thebassman]

Buy a supercharger

[MongosG8]

It is annoying. My buddy thought I had a Supercharger .. I looked at him and said .. I wish!

[Sean]

So just to add a little for any new owners that may come across this...

I've brought my '09 G8 GT back to the dealer twice in the thousand miles since I bought it a few weeks ago, both times complaining of a "tea kettle" like whistle on a dead-cold start (among other things), that would last somewhere in the neighborhood of 15-30 seconds, sometimes as much as a minute, then settle down and usually disappear until the next overnight sit. To me, the whine was similar in pitch to a squeaking belt, but with a distinctive "liquid under pressure" characteristic that led me to the use the Tea-kettle description. To avoid confusion, this is not the same whine heard while gently accelerating or lightly "tapping" the accelerator at highway speeds, which I have as well, and assumed was a by-product of the massive Roto-Fab CAI that the previous owner added...

First trip in, they couldn't duplicate the issue. second time in, they found it to be the alternator, and/or maybe the tensioner pulley, or possibly the idler pulley. Since I had also noticed while looking for the source of the noise that the power steering pump pulley appeared to be a bit wobbly, which they confirmed, it was replaced along with all of the above listed components, including a new serpentine belt to cap it all off. (While caught slightly off guard, I am VERY satisfied by their "Fix ALL The Warranty Things!!!" attitude, and their service in general has been terrific thus far.)

Next cold start, it's whistling again :(

Since I bought this car three weeks ago it's services, including what the dealer did after purchasing it in trade, and before selling it to me CPO, includes the following:

8 New brake pads,

4 New rotors,

3 tire rotations,

3 4-wheel Alignments (last of which fixed a slight pull),

2 New Radiator motors/fans (fixing ticking noise casued by cracked fan blades),

2 New serpentine belts,

1 Road-force tire balance (fixed vibrations in wheel at 70),

1 New alternator and pulley,

1 New tensioner pulley,

1 New idler pulley,

1 New Power steering Pulley and...

3 washes, 2 details and a hand-wax! :embarass:


The dealer (service adviser) seemed embarrassed that the car had been in repeatedly so quickly after its sale, but I told him not to worry: the more 60, 70, and 80K mile issues I can take care of now, under warranty, the happier I would be!

That does beg the question though:

If the alternator, serpentine belt, and damn near every pulley under the hood is brand-new, where the hell is is my whistle coming from? I can't imagine a whistle this loud is a battery issue, battery issue, but could someone please explain that issue a bit further?

I'll post a link to a video of the car on a cold start soon to help with diagnosis.

Thanks all,

-Sean

[Napalm]

So has anyone ever connected a meter to the car to check the alternator output? I remember the GTO Alternator used to whine whenever the battery was a touch low. IE the car would make the alternator work harder to make up some difference. Once the car voltage stabalized above 12.5 the whine would go away.

Now my 09 GT whines a bit when first started as well. And I've checked the AC ripple on the circuit to make sure the diode pack was working fine. I have a theory that the BCM control of the Alternator field is causing the additional strain on the alternator when the car is first started.

Just an initial guess. I have heard 2 other cars with much worse whine than mine ever has.