jackthehat.co.uk Posted December 31, 2006 Report Posted December 31, 2006 Hello folks. My 2002 1.9TDi 115 has just started making a rumbling noise under the bonnet when the engine is idling. As soon as you increase the revs a little the noise disappears again. Just before this noise started appearing I got two warnings one day on the dash saying "Alternator Workshop". Has anyone else experienced this before? I assume it is something to do with the alternator or drive belt etc. I am NOT a genius mechanic so will need things explained in "dumbass" terms if possible. Anything I need to look for before handing it over to the Fraud dealer? I've done a quick search on the forum and read lots about belt tensioners etc but not sure if that's what I should be looking for. Many thanks. Quote
jackthehat.co.uk Posted January 2, 2007 Author Report Posted January 2, 2007 Well, thanks for your help fellas... looks like I'll have to leave it to the Fraud dealers if you can't help me out. Thanks for reading the post anyway. Quote
Guest neil_wiles Posted January 2, 2007 Report Posted January 2, 2007 Alternator bearing failure is known to have a detrimental effect on the charge rate therefore a warning is displayed also produces more noise than a set of screeching cats. Quote
jackthehat.co.uk Posted January 3, 2007 Author Report Posted January 3, 2007 OK, thanks. I need the car sorted out so I'm going to phone the garage tomorrow to get it booked in. I've only had the thing a few months and I'm fed up of it already. I've had my old Granada V6 for 7 years without any trouble and 190,000 miles of sheer driving pleasure. I think the fact that VW made most of the Galaxy has got something to do with it.... grrr! Should have known to stick with good old traditional Fords. Quote
Dave-G Posted January 4, 2007 Report Posted January 4, 2007 It seems the tensioner will fluctuate when load is placed on a component using the accessory belt. When there is no fault (someone try this please and report)... with the engine at idle, have someone turn on your AC while you watch the tensioner. it will start to "resonate" untill you turn off the AC or increase engine to 1000 rpm. likewise it will do this as you adjust your steering wheel and use the power steering pump. I dont recall any 'idle-up' device being active on the galaxy - like wot I ad on my mondeo. I would guess that bearing failure in the alternator is putting a heavier drag on the belt. Quote
jackthehat.co.uk Posted January 4, 2007 Author Report Posted January 4, 2007 Mine's got that silly climate control. How do you actually turn off the AC? Do you switch it to ECON? The system has got to be the most over complex piece of nonsense ever. Too fiddly. Takes forever to get warm and forever to cool you down. You can't beat the three big knobs on the old cars.I've never looked at the tensioner before until now but it wobbles about 10mm back and forth when the engine is idling at the moment. I tried to book it into the garage today but they're closed until Monday so it'll have to wait until next week now. Quote
Dave-G Posted January 6, 2007 Report Posted January 6, 2007 Sounds juust like mine - did you get it sorted Jack? Quote
Dave-G Posted January 10, 2007 Report Posted January 10, 2007 Jack - result please? Similar thread here:http://www.fordgalaxy.org.uk/ford/index.ph...p;hl=alternator Quote
jackthehat.co.uk Posted January 11, 2007 Author Report Posted January 11, 2007 Hi, car went in yesterday and the drive belt was changed but it made no difference. Going in again tomorrow morning for a new spring tensioner to be fitted. I've printed off a few examples of similiar problems posted on this forum and will be taking them with me to the garage. Garage man says alternator is fine but I still can't stop thinking that the alternator is the culprit. Garage man was talking about possible steering rack fault.... hmm, sounds expensive. Will keep you posted. Quote
Dave-G Posted January 11, 2007 Report Posted January 11, 2007 Keep us posted then please Jack - my money is on the alternator because we had precisely the same symptoms. But for your sake - if your garage is still looking to the belt tensioner which is a cheaper option, I hope that clears it for you. Sometimes we have little choice but to suck it and see. ATB, Dave. Quote
davethecabbie Posted January 11, 2007 Report Posted January 11, 2007 hi all,im having exactly the same problem with my 01 gal.its driving me mad.ive had the belt changed twice, the tensioner,someone suggested the pulley on the power steering pump can wear so thats been changed and nothing has worked.im thinking of changing the crankshaft pulley next.as the noise goes briefly after changing the belt(even turning one inside out made a difference) it seems the problem could be related to the belt perhaps wearing and not getting enough grip on a worn pulley.this is probably wishful thinking but probably a cheaper hit and miss than fitting a new alternator as this seems to be working ok Quote
littledaz Posted January 11, 2007 Report Posted January 11, 2007 It seems that quite a few of you are suffering from this. From the description of your symptoms, this sounds identical to the issues that I have successfully rectified on Audi models at my Audi dealership that share the same engine. First of all, this mainly affects the diesel models as they are the VW group engines. The noise is due to the ribbed v belt bouncing around on the pulleys thus loosing grip and creating a squeal. The reason the squeal is worse when turning the steering is due to the heavy load from the pump. Anybody that thinks the alternator is the cause is correct, well almost. The faulty component is actually the alternator pulley. It has a one-way clutch built in to the pulley which allows the alternator to freewheel in one direction. When this pulley seizes, it causes the belt to load up on the tensioner side causing the tensioner to spring back. This effect then causes the belt to be slack in certain places, mainly at the power steering pump area, causing the noise and rough steering feeling. You can usually view this by the tensioner bouncing around at tickover when it should be steady. The more load on the belt, the noisier it will be i.e. on full lock. There is good news and bad news. The good - the pulley is available as a separate part ( about Quote
NikpV Posted January 11, 2007 Report Posted January 11, 2007 Thank-you for the comprehensive reply - I will put a link in the faq :rolleyes: Quote
jackthehat.co.uk Posted January 12, 2007 Author Report Posted January 12, 2007 Wow! Littledaz, I wish you had posted that comprehensive method a few days ago. Great stuff! Anyway, my car went in today and had a new spring tensioner fitted. It drives and sounds perfect now (but for how long?) I really hope that is the end of it but I am not too confident at the moment. When I got in the car I switched on everything I could think of... lights on main beam, fog lights, AC, front and rear screens etc to put as much load on the alternator as possible and the car still worked OK. Mr. Garage man says the new tensioner had far more power in its spring than the old one. My car has about 68K on the clock so I suppose a worn out spring tensioner is possible. If the car goes bad again over the next few weeks I'll be printing off Littledaz's post to take for Mr. Garage man to see. Many thanks Quote
littledaz Posted January 13, 2007 Report Posted January 13, 2007 Hi jackthehat.co.uk, I'm pleased to hear your car is rectified. I tried to reply to your post on the 10th Jan but had problems with registration. Bad timing, sorry. :huh: Don't get me wrong, there is every possibility that this issue can be due to worn belts and/or tensioners and they shouldn't be overlooked. My check of the alternator pulley will, hopefully, help owners that have been advised that their belts & tensioners require replacement and are still suffering with the issue. All components should be checked but, the pulley can be checked in minutes and can save alot of time and money. When the pulley seizes, it obviously places undue stresses and wear on the belt and tensioner, which is why replacing them can cure the noise temporarily. I have heard of dealers fitting power steering pumps and racks to some vehicles and still having the problem (very worrying). Nevertheless, I do hope yours is sorted and it would be good to hear if it lasts. Regards, littledaz Quote
jackthehat.co.uk Posted January 13, 2007 Author Report Posted January 13, 2007 Hi Littledaz, I had a look at my alterator today as I couldn't resist doing the little test you told us about. Alas, I couldn't get the fan blades to budge at all in either direction. If i tried any harder I would have snapped a fan blade! Obviously this test was done with the alternator on the car and the belt still in place. Going by what you said it sounds as if the alternator is faulty... am I correct? If so, it looks like I can expect the noisy steering fault to start up again after a week or so. Damn... and I though it was all sorted. :lol: Quote
littledaz Posted January 13, 2007 Report Posted January 13, 2007 Oh dear! It would seem that your pulley is indeed seized. The test can be carried out with the alternator on the car. It is the resistance of the fitted belt that gives you the ability to turn the alternator fan blades. If, when you are trying to turn the fan in both directions, the pulley is trying to turn also, it is seized. As I said in my test instructions, if the pulley is OK the fan should turn with very little effort. As an update to my test, the freewheel direction is clockwise. (I've just been out and confirmed it on my Galaxy). littledaz Quote
Dave-G Posted January 13, 2007 Report Posted January 13, 2007 Outstanding that man Top class forum stuff - Makes me feel glad I pressed for other peoples results too. For all those that cant get their problems resolved here (we aint god-like all the time) please advise us of the possibly expensive result you eventually get elsewhere. It works if we all fiish our threads - you'll be amazed how many newbies come here for a quickie - and disappear without as much as a by your leave. Again - well done and welcome to the forum Littledaz. Quote
jackthehat.co.uk Posted January 14, 2007 Author Report Posted January 14, 2007 Oh well, the forum needs a guinea pig once in a while... looks like it's me this week. Quote
jackthehat.co.uk Posted January 14, 2007 Author Report Posted January 14, 2007 Ooooh, forgot to tell you Littledaz.... Mr Garage man told me that when he first took the belt off the car the alternator pulley wheel was turning in both directions "as smooth as silk". That's why he eliminated that as the cause. Even though my alternator fails your test would the pulley wheel still turn freely in both directions? Quote
littledaz Posted January 14, 2007 Report Posted January 14, 2007 I am not sure if you can obtain this pulley separately from Ford as my experience is with VW/Audi. What I can tell you is that I priced a pulley for mine at my dealership and it was Quote
jackthehat.co.uk Posted January 14, 2007 Author Report Posted January 14, 2007 Hi Littledaz, Wow, this is all good stuff.... just what this site should be all about.The number on the back of my alternator is 028 903 028E I really do appreciate this by the way. You could be saving me a small fortune here. The garage was talking about replacing steering racks and power steering pumps next! (YIKES!) Thanks again for your time. Quote
littledaz Posted January 14, 2007 Report Posted January 14, 2007 With that part number, you should have a freewheeling pulley. Looks like we are homing in on the fault. The part number for the pulley is '038 903 119 T. When I get back to work tomorrow I will find out how much it is. ld Quote
jackthehat.co.uk Posted January 14, 2007 Author Report Posted January 14, 2007 Super... you're a star!I will be printing all this stuff out and taking it for Mr garage man to see when the fault starts up again. I think the fact that the pulley can be purchased as a separate part tells us something don't you? Sounds like another good piece of VW/Audi engineering.... parts designed to break as soon as warranty runs out! Thanks again Littledaz. Quote
littledaz Posted January 15, 2007 Report Posted January 15, 2007 Hi jackthehat.co.uk, Not surprisingly, the part number for the pulley I gave you has changed 3 times. This is an indication that it has been modified. Need I say more! The part number for the pulley is now 022 903 119C and the cost of this from a VW/Audi dealership would be Quote
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