Who hasn’t found himself in the situation where his car doesn’t start one morning on the way to work? If that didn’t happen to you, at least you’ve already had that fear. So when you hear an alternator noise on Citroen Xantia, you can already see yourself breaking down, stuck waiting for the tow truck. That’s why our team has decided to write this article to support you locate the sources of alternator sounds. In this article, you will first see the role and functions of the alternator in your Citroen Xantia and then what the causes and solutions to alternator noise on Citroen Xantia may be.
Role and alternator operation Citroen Xantia
Alternator role
Your alternator is an fundamental component of your Citroen Xantia. In fact, its mission is to generate power to your entire electrical system: headlights, interior lighting, signalling, computer… It will have the mission of recharging the battery once the vehicle is in motion, to provide power to the vehicle in motion and to allow you to always have a enough energy source to be able to restart the next time.
Alternator functioning
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The alternator operates on an electrical principle that has been used for decades, the concept of copper coil wound around a magnet . This coil while spinning generates electricity. It is the engine itself that will give the energy requested by the alternator to create the energy, via the accessory belt or alternator belt. When your Citroen Xantia engine stops, the battery takes over to give the vehicle with energy.
What are the several alternator noises or sounds on my Citroen Xantia and what are the causes?
I listen to a knocking noise originating from the alternator of my Citroen Xantia
One of the characteristic noises of a tired alternator on Citroen Xantia is a knocking noise. This alternator sound on Citroen Xantia will generally happen when your engine is idling, it can be associated with voltage drops that could disturb the normal operation of electrical elements such as headlights for example. In general, it is a of both bearings of the alternator that is malfunctioning, to check it, use a multimeter on the terminals of your vehicle with the engine running and you must get a value between 12 and 14.7 volts, which means that your alternator is recharging your battery well. If the value is lower, the alternator of your Citroen Xantia is tired and you should consider changing the bearing if it is the only cause otherwise the whole part.
I hear a grinding noise coming from the alternator of my Citroen Xantia
If you are in the case where the alternator of your Citroen Xantia produces grinding sounds, in this circumstance you will have to look into it more seriously. This warning sign can testify as for the knocking sound of a tired bearing, but generally, we generally see by looking more carefully that it is the accessory belt that is loosened or worn and is therefore the cause of it. In this circumstance, we encourage that you consult this content to find all the necessary information to solve an accessory belt noise on Citroen Xantia.
I hear a loud noise from the alternator of my Citroen Xantia
Hearing a loud noise from the alternator of your Citroen Xantia is quite common, in fact, it emits an audible sound when producing the electrical pulses it generates. It is up to you to check that the battery indicator light on your dashboard does not appear, and that you do not have a voltage drop when your engine is running (headlight or dashboard light that jumps for example. If this noise is too loud, we encourage that you have a look this content to find other ways to solve problem of noises from front end on Citroen Xantia.