Chirping Noise From Front of Motor
04-05-2011, 09:53 PM
#1
Drifting
Thread Starter
Chirping Noise From Front of Motor
I have been having a faint chirping noise coming from the from of my motor for the past couple of weeks. Car has 11K miles so I would not think its the belt. Listening to it tonite it seemed to be coming from the alternator area. I unplugged the wiring harness from the alternator and the noise went away. Would this mean the alternator is bad? Voltage output is normal. Car is certified and has GMPP also.
04-05-2011, 10:22 PM
#2
Pro
I think that chirp you describe is a result of your alternator in the early stages of failure but it may not necessarly "bad" at this point.
Personally, I would take it off and have it checked at a shop. All you need is a 15 mm socket and a 1/2 inch wrench -- you can have it off in less than 5min.
In the future you may want to upgrade your alternator to 180amp or more -- the 145amp stock one is barely adequate for the demands of the C6. If however, you want to stay with the stock alternator simply have it rebuilt -- you can save a ton of money.
Personally, I would take it off and have it checked at a shop. All you need is a 15 mm socket and a 1/2 inch wrench -- you can have it off in less than 5min.
In the future you may want to upgrade your alternator to 180amp or more -- the 145amp stock one is barely adequate for the demands of the C6. If however, you want to stay with the stock alternator simply have it rebuilt -- you can save a ton of money.
04-05-2011, 10:40 PM
#6
Drifting
Thread Starter
04-05-2011, 10:46 PM
#7
Pro
04-06-2011, 10:59 AM
#8
Gp56,
I have read your question about the chirping noise in the front end of your motor. I believe that you are going down the right avenue by taking it to the dealership for further diagnosis. I have had this sound in one of my previous vehicles. It was not a Corvette, but I was told that is was my pully system and to just oil it up. Please, keep in mind that I am not a tech, but I couldn’t agree with you more about getting it looked at.
Michelle P., Chevrolet Customer Service
I have read your question about the chirping noise in the front end of your motor. I believe that you are going down the right avenue by taking it to the dealership for further diagnosis. I have had this sound in one of my previous vehicles. It was not a Corvette, but I was told that is was my pully system and to just oil it up. Please, keep in mind that I am not a tech, but I couldn’t agree with you more about getting it looked at.
Michelle P., Chevrolet Customer Service
04-06-2011, 11:09 AM
#10
had a chirping noise in the front of my car as well....told it was the serpentine belt. i replaced it for $25.00 in 5 minutes myself and the chirp is gone and the noise coming from the engine bay is less. if the chirp comes back, back i go to the dealer to tell them the belt was replaced and now what.
belt is cheap and easy to replace.
belt is cheap and easy to replace.
04-06-2011, 11:10 AM
#11
Team Owner
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St. Jude Donor '11-'12-'13, '16-'17-'18
No load on alternator, no slippage of belt over its pulley......
Another test you can try if you're really curious... spray some carb cleaner on the inside surface of the belt while engine it idling (be careful).
If the chirp goes away for a while, you either have a bad or dirty belt...
08-27-2011, 11:27 PM
#13
Pro
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Hi, just wanted to add my 2011 Grand Sport with 2700 miles started chirping yesterday. Glad I found this thread. Will be taking it to the dealer. Funny thing is it wont do the chirp by the time I get there, because it goes away after the engine warms up. I hope they know what it is and don't have to keep it overnight to replicate the problem. I'm taking a recording of the sound with me just in case... 
08-27-2011, 11:37 PM
#14
Race Director
There are a bunch of threads about chirping noise. Mine did it around 1k miles and they replaced the belt which seemed to fix it right now. It sounded like a bunch of birds when I drove down the highway. Mine seemed to do it when it warmed up.
05-23-2012, 06:32 AM
#16
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Folks,
My base C6 (07) with 44,000 miles has the same problem. I have replaced the harmonic balancer, and belts with the same results. The noise would go away but return after some months. Right now, as soon as the engine warms up, the chirping sound stops. I am curious about the possibility of upgrading my alternator to 180 amp. Would that help in any way?
Thanks in advance
Jude
My base C6 (07) with 44,000 miles has the same problem. I have replaced the harmonic balancer, and belts with the same results. The noise would go away but return after some months. Right now, as soon as the engine warms up, the chirping sound stops. I am curious about the possibility of upgrading my alternator to 180 amp. Would that help in any way?
Thanks in advance
Jude
05-23-2012, 09:42 AM
#18
Drifting
Thread Starter
My problem turned out to be the alternator making the chirping sound, but I had it all the time, not just when cold. I unplugged the connector on alternator and sound went away, plugged it back in and it came back.
05-27-2012, 09:33 AM
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