Quote:
Originally Posted by embee
What you describe of the squeal sounds very much like the alternator belt slipping. The frequency of the noise isn't engine speed related, mainly a fuction of the belt construction (stick/slip of the rubber on the pulley).
Drive belts tend to tighten as the unit gets hot (the structure expands), assuming it doesn't have an automatic tensioner, so the slipping reduces when hot. Rechecking the tension should fix it, though if the belt is tired it's worth replacing.
Immediately after a start the alternator is heavily loaded trying to recharge the battery. From your description of stumbling I'd begin to suspect the battery itself anyway. This sort of stumbling, or stalling even, can happen if the battery voltage recovery doesn't match the expected characteristics under which the ECU is programmed.
I had a van once on which I thought the alternator was on its way out because it rumbled after a cold start. That turned out to be the battery (it died completely soon after), it was so knackered the poor alternator was running flat out trying to charge it. It's surprising how much noise alternators can make under full load.
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i'm inclined to think this is the likely cause here, i sat in the car in the office car park when i left work and tried revving the engine and depressing the clutch, the revs might have affected it slightly but the clutch did nothing so thankfully it doesn't sound like that problem.
also, it was very very wet out there this afternoon and the squeal wasn't anywhere near as bad as it had been this morning when i started it in the dry, i'd imagine the water lubricates the belts allowing them to slip, which can't be good for the alternator or battery.
when i said stumble btw i meant before the engine catches, instead of the normal "chu chu chu chu *start*" it's more like chu chu chu ku-chu ku-chu ku-chu chukka-chukka *start* - you'll have to provide your own sound effects...
