Dear Scotty,
Our 2005 Honda Pilot, 225,000 miles, has a new noise: a squealing accessory belt.
I replaced the accessory belt, water pump, and tensioner in May 2022 (perhaps 8,000 miles ago) and it was nice and quiet.
I replaced the alternator this week and now the belt squeals terribly. It did not make noise immediately after the alternator was replaced but after 50 miles or so, it is making alot of noise. I noticed the alternator pulley on the new unit is painted. Could this be the problem? I hesitate to start throwing parts at it without knowing for sure especially if all I need to do is get the paint off the pulley.
Please note this is the same Pilot with the intermittent electrical problem in another post.
Pete 'The Missing Link'
disconnect the positive lead from the alternator and see if the squeal goes away
After working on the parasitic load problem, I had the car running and was checking for sources of the squeal. Using a makeshift stethoscope, it did not appear to be an idler nor accessory. I sprayed the belt down with some WD-40 and it became silent, so I figure it must be the belt. Frustrating, since it was new in May 2022. Perhaps when reinstalled it was forced to jump a tooth or two to get properly aligned and that muxed it up.