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 minimum you’ve already had that fear. So when you find out an alternator noise on smart fortwo, you can already see yourself breaking down, stuck waiting for the tow truck. That’s why our team has decided to produce this article to support you find the sources of alternator sounds. In this article, you will first discover the role and operation of the alternator in your smart fortwo and then what the causes and solutions to alternator noise on smart fortwo may be.
Role and alternator operation smart fortwo
Alternator role
Your alternator is an vital component of your smart fortwo. Indeed, its mission is to give 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 enough 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 creates 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 smart fortwo engine stops, the battery takes over to give the car with energy.
What are the distinctive alternator noises or sounds on my smart fortwo and what are the causes?
I perceive a knocking noise originating from the alternator of my smart fortwo
One of the characteristic noises of a tired alternator on smart fortwo is a knocking noise. This alternator sound on smart fortwo will most of the time show up 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 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 obtain 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 smart fortwo is tired and you should think about changing the bearing if it is the only reason otherwise the complete part.
I find out a grinding noise coming from the alternator of my smart fortwo
If you are in the case where the alternator of your smart fortwo causes grinding sounds, in this case you will have to check it more seriously. This warning sign can testify as for the knocking sound of a tired bearing, but usually, 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 advise that you consult this content to find all the necessary details to solve an accessory belt noise on smart fortwo.
I find out a loud noise from the alternator of my smart fortwo
Finding out a loud noise from the alternator of your smart fortwo is quite regular, in fact, it emits 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 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 advise that you have a look this content to find other ways to solve problem of noises from front end on smart fortwo.
