Last Friday I noticed my car starting making a quiet whining noise. It sounded like when my timing belt was too tight. Then I thought it might be my power steering pump. I checked, and the fluid was full. The noise was definitely coming from the front of the engine, but I couldn’t say whether it was the timing belt or the alternator. I decided to ignore the noise. It was only noticeable at idle, or low speeds.
On my drive in to work on Monday I noticed my tachometer started jumping around, the needle was bouncing between 2000 and 3000 RPM. My speedometer does this sometimes, but the tach is always solid. I put the clutch in, and the tach smoothed out at low RPMs, and then I let the clutch out, and then the charging system warning light.
“I guess I know what the whining noise was,” I thought. I turned off the radio, the headlights and the blower, and continued into work. Once there, I verified that the alternator wasn’t charging, so I bought a replacement, and I got a battery too, just because my old one was old. I was later informed I could have just replaced the brushes in the alternator. I wish I had thought of that sooner. The one that was in the car wasn’t original anyhow.
I’ve decided my car is ready to die, and when that time comes, I’ll let it go. I’d rather it die a peaceful death, than to take me with it in a fireball. Hopefully I’ll make some money this summer so I can buy a new car before next winter. Winter takes a toll on my car. The thing is a dream in the summer, and a nightmare in the winter.