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, perhaps you’ve already had that fear. So when you hear an alternator noise on Mini Cooper, you can already see yourself breaking down, stuck waiting for the tow truck. That’s why our team has decided to write this post to help you locate the sources of alternator sounds. In this article, you will first discover the role and functions of the alternator in your Mini Cooper and then what the causes and solutions to alternator noise on Mini Cooper may be.
Role and alternator operation Mini Cooper
Alternator role
Your alternator is an important component of your Mini Cooper. Indeed, its goal is to provide power to your entire electrical system: headlights, interior lighting, signalling, computer… It will have the goal 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 produces electricity. It is the engine motor itself that will provide the energy needed by the alternator to generate the energy, via the accessory belt or alternator belt. When your Mini Cooper engine stops, the battery takes over to provide the car with energy.
What are the different alternator noises or sounds on my Mini Cooper and what are the causes?
I perceive a knocking noise coming from the alternator of my Mini Cooper
One of the typical noises of a tired alternator on Mini Cooper is a knocking noise. This alternator sound on Mini Cooper will most of the time show up 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. In many cases, it is a of both bearings of the alternator that is malfunctioning, to check it, use a multimeter on the terminals of your car with the engine running and you must look for 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 Mini Cooper is tired and you should consider changing the bearing if it is the only cause otherwise the entire part.
I hear a grinding noise coming from the alternator of my Mini Cooper
If you are in the situation where the alternator of your Mini Cooper causes grinding sounds, in this circumstance you will have to check it more seriously. This sign can testify as for the knocking sound of a tired bearing, but in most cases, we often see by looking more meticulously that it is the accessory belt that is loosened or worn and is therefore the cause of it. In this circumstance, we recommend that you read this article to find all the necessary information to solve an accessory belt noise on Mini Cooper.
I hear a loud noise from the alternator of my Mini Cooper
Hearing a loud noise from the alternator of your Mini Cooper is quite typical, in fact, it produces an audible sound when creating 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 recommend that you go to this article to find other ways to solve problem of noises from front end on Mini Cooper.
