Burning smell & whining sound with brake & battery lights on

Tiny
CHERRY4CALIF
  • MEMBER
  • 2006 KIA SORENTO
  • 115,000 MILES
We just recently replaced the alternator; one of the belts has recently been replaced. Now there's a whining sound as soon as you start the car & there's a burning sound. The only lights that came on when this started was the brake and battery light. The smell starts as soon as you start the car & gets worse if driven. All the belts look to be working properly. There's about 117,000 miles on the car.
Thursday, October 31st, 2013 AT 9:43 AM

12 Replies

Tiny
JACOBANDNICKOLAS
  • MECHANIC
  • 110,176 POSTS
If the battery light is on, the new alt may not be good. Remove it and have it bench tested at a local parts store.

Let me know what you find.
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Thursday, October 31st, 2013 AT 10:43 AM
Tiny
CHERRY4CALIF
  • MEMBER
  • 9 POSTS
What about the burning smell & the whining? We've never had the before with the bad alternator.
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Thursday, October 31st, 2013 AT 10:51 AM
Tiny
JACOBANDNICKOLAS
  • MECHANIC
  • 110,176 POSTS
I'm thinking that the smell and sound may be coming from the new alt. After running the vehicle, check to see if that seems to be where the smell is coming from.
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Thursday, October 31st, 2013 AT 11:00 AM
Tiny
CHERRY4CALIF
  • MEMBER
  • 9 POSTS
We've been driving it without a problem for about 2 months since replacing the alternator. We'll check. You're pretty sure that would be it?
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Thursday, October 31st, 2013 AT 12:05 PM
Tiny
CHERRY4CALIF
  • MEMBER
  • 9 POSTS
What are the symptoms of a bad pulley that needs to be replaced?
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Thursday, October 31st, 2013 AT 12:24 PM
Tiny
JACOBANDNICKOLAS
  • MECHANIC
  • 110,176 POSTS
I can't be 100% sure, but since the battery light is on, I would think there is a problem in that area. As far as the pulley, it matters what the pulley is doing. If it is locking up, it can cause the belt to squeal and overheat. If you haven't. Remove the belt and check all belt driven pulleys to see if there are any that make noise or have a drag when you turn them.
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Thursday, October 31st, 2013 AT 4:26 PM
Tiny
CHERRY4CALIF
  • MEMBER
  • 9 POSTS
Thank you so much! We'll get the alternator checked. The belts seem to be working fine!
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Thursday, October 31st, 2013 AT 5:03 PM
Tiny
JACOBANDNICKOLAS
  • MECHANIC
  • 110,176 POSTS
Let me know what you find.
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Thursday, October 31st, 2013 AT 5:07 PM
Tiny
CHERRY4CALIF
  • MEMBER
  • 9 POSTS
My husband disconnected the battery & we haven't had an issue for almost a week.
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Monday, November 4th, 2013 AT 8:07 AM
Tiny
JACOBANDNICKOLAS
  • MECHANIC
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Disconnected the battery? Is this something he does every night? Are the battery and brake lights still on?
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Monday, November 4th, 2013 AT 8:38 AM
Tiny
CHERRY4CALIF
  • MEMBER
  • 9 POSTS
No. He did it to see if it would help. The lights went off & haven't come back on & there's no smell. It's running normally so far.
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Monday, November 4th, 2013 AT 9:55 AM
Tiny
JACOBANDNICKOLAS
  • MECHANIC
  • 110,176 POSTS
Let me know if it starts up again or if you have other questions.
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Monday, November 4th, 2013 AT 7:46 PM

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