[DeTomaso] Techno question: a fine mess

[Charles Engles]

Dear Forum,

 

 

             The predicament: a funny howling, squealing noise from the
front of the engine.  I inspect things and cannot localize it, but it
appears that it is not the AC idler pulley or bearing.  The belts look good.
A temperature gun shows that the alternator axle (?) was 35 or 50 degrees
hotter than anything else on the front of the engine pulleys.   I decided
that the noise may be coming from the alternator bearing.

Loosening and tightening the idler pulley didn't change anything.

 

             I pulled off the old stock alternator.   I pulled out another
stock alternator from the parts supply that was working well when removed in
1998.   The suspect alternator had a tiny bit of roughness and a subtle
noise when I spun it on the bench with my fingers.  The "new" old alternator
did not.   I thought that I had found the problem.

 

             I installed the back up stock alternator.   I tested the engine
at idle and I am crushed that the noise is still there.  So..the noise is
from one of the belts or from the idler pulley.

 

 

             Plus a new problem: the ammeter is bouncing back and forth like
a metronome with a seizure.   This really confuses me because after I placed
the ammeter shunt decades ago the bounce has been gone.  Now, the only thing
that is changed is the alternator that is from Pantera 7191 and place on
Pantera 7171, which should be the same alternator.

 

 

            So the search for the squeal goes on.   The electrical mystery
of the Return of the Curse of the Bouncing Ammeter has me baffled.

 

            I can accept the continuing task of the squeal search, but I do
not understand my electrical problem.  Can anyone explain this to an
electrically challenged Pantera technician??

 

 

                              Flummoxed,  Chuck Engles

 

-------------- next part --------------
   Dear Forum,



                The predicament: a funny howling, squealing noise from the
   front of the engine.  I inspect things and cannot localize it, but it
   appears that it is not the AC idler pulley or bearing.  The belts look
   good.  A temperature gun shows that the alternator axle (?) was 35 or
   50 degrees hotter than anything else on the front of the engine
   pulleys.   I decided that the noise may be coming from the alternator
   bearing.

   Loosening and tightening the idler pulley didn't change anything.


                I pulled off the old stock alternator.   I pulled out
   another stock alternator from the parts supply that was working well
   when removed in 1998.   The suspect alternator had a tiny bit of
   roughness and a subtle noise when I spun it on the bench with my
   fingers.  The "new" old alternator did not.   I thought that I had
   found the problem.


                I installed the back up stock alternator.   I tested the
   engine at idle and I am crushed that the noise is still there.
   So....the noise is from one of the belts or from the idler pulley.



                Plus a new problem: the ammeter is bouncing back and forth
   like a metronome with a seizure.   This really confuses me because
   after I placed the ammeter shunt decades ago the bounce has been gone.
   Now, the only thing that is changed is the alternator that is from
   Pantera 7191 and place on Pantera 7171, which should be the same
   alternator.



               So the search for the squeal goes on.   The electrical
   mystery of the Return of the Curse of the Bouncing Ammeter has me
   baffled.


               I can accept the continuing task of the squeal search, but
   I do not understand my electrical problem.  Can anyone explain this to
   an electrically challenged Pantera technician??



                                 Flummoxed,  Chuck Engles