Who hasn’t found himself in the situation where his car doesn’t start one morning on the way to work? If it never happened to you , certainly you’ve already had that apprehension. So when you perceive an alternator noise on Kia Picanto, you can already see yourself breaking down, stuck waiting for the tow truck. That’s why our team has decided to produce this content to help you locate the sources of alternator sounds. In this article, you will first see the role and operation of the alternator in your Kia Picanto and then what the causes and solutions to alternator noise on Kia Picanto may be.
Role and alternator operation Kia Picanto
Alternator role
Your alternator is an vital component of your Kia Picanto. Indeed, its mission is to generate power to your entire electrical system: headlights, interior lighting, signalling, computer… It will have the mission of charging 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 reserve 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 rotating creates electricity. It is the engine itself that will provide the energy needed by the alternator to generate the energy, via the accessory belt or alternator belt. When your Kia Picanto engine stops, the battery takes over to provide the vehicle with energy.
What are the distinctive alternator noises or sounds on my Kia Picanto and what are the causes?
I notice a knocking noise from the alternator of my Kia Picanto
One of the typical noises of a tired alternator on Kia Picanto is a knocking noise. This alternator sound on Kia Picanto will most of the time appear when your engine is idling, it can be associated with voltage drops that could affect the normal operation of electrical elements such as headlights for example. Most often, it is a of both bearings of the alternator that is malfunctioning, to examine 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 charging your battery well. If the value is lower, the alternator of your Kia Picanto is tired and you should consider changing the bearing if it is the only reason otherwise the whole part.
I perceive a grinding noise coming from the alternator of my Kia Picanto
If you are in the case where the alternator of your Kia Picanto causes grinding sounds, in this case you will have to look at it more seriously. This indicator can testify as for the knocking sound of a tired bearing, however , in most cases, we often notice by looking more strongly that it is the accessory belt that is loosened or worn and is therefore the reason of it. In this case, we suggest that you read this article to find all the necessary information to solve an accessory belt noise on Kia Picanto.
I perceive a loud noise from the alternator of my Kia Picanto
Experiencing a loud noise from the alternator of your Kia Picanto is quite regular, in fact, it produces an audible sound when producing the electrical pulses it generates. It is up to you to examine 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 suggest that you look into this article to find other ways to solve problem of noises from front end on Kia Picanto.
