Did you ever had this trouble trying to start your car in the morning and it doesn’t work ? If that didn’t happen to you, at minimum you’ve already had that fear. So when you hear an alternator noise on Mercedes Vito, you can already imagine 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 origins of alternator sounds. In this article, you will first discover the role and functions of the alternator in your Mercedes Vito and then what the causes and solutions to alternator noise on Mercedes Vito may be.
Role and alternator operation Mercedes Vito
Alternator role
Your alternator is an essential component of your Mercedes Vito. In fact, its objective is to provide power to your entire electrical system: headlights, interior lighting, signalling, computer… It will have the task of charging the battery once the car is in motion, to provide power to the car in motion and to let you to always have a sufficient energy reserve to be able to restart the next time.
Alternator functioning
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The alternator functions on an electrical principle that has been used for decades, the principle of copper coil wound around a magnet . This coil while rotating generates electricity. It is the engine motor itself that will give the energy requested by the alternator to produce the energy, via the accessory belt or alternator belt. When your Mercedes Vito engine stops, the battery takes over to give the car with energy.
What are the different alternator noises or sounds on my Mercedes Vito and what are the causes?
I listen to a knocking noise from the alternator of my Mercedes Vito
One of the typical noises of a tired alternator on Mercedes Vito is a knocking noise. This alternator sound on Mercedes Vito will generally appear when your engine is idling, it can be connected to voltage drops that could disturb the normal operation of electrical elements such as headlights for example. Most often, it is a of both bearings of the alternator that is defective, to check it, use a multimeter on the terminals of your car 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 Mercedes Vito is tired and you should think about changing the bearing if it is the only reason otherwise the whole part.
I hear a grinding noise coming from the alternator of my Mercedes Vito
If you are in the case where the alternator of your Mercedes Vito produces grinding sounds, in this case you will have to check it more seriously. This indicator can testify as for the knocking sound of a tired bearing, but usually, we generally realise by looking more meticulously that it is the accessory belt that is loosened or worn and is therefore the reason of it. In this case, we encourage that you look for advice this article to find all the necessary details to solve an accessory belt noise on Mercedes Vito.
I hear a loud noise from the alternator of my Mercedes Vito
Hearing a loud noise from the alternator of your Mercedes Vito is quite regular, in fact, it produces 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 show up, 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 article to find other ways to solve problem of noises from front end on Mercedes Vito.
