Technical Odd things and noises

[Maaartahn]

Hi there,

My other half has owned a 1.2 Pop for 3 years and there are certain things that are causing us a few worries. Now the car is going in for service in January but I was wondering if anybody has experienced the same issues.

I'll start with the first (which is slightly embarrassing as I can't really describe it). Sometimes when we are driving between 60 and 70mph there is like a whining noise coming from the front of the car, now the first time I heard it (around 16,000 miles clocked) I slowed the car down from 70 to 50 and it disappeared, then a couple of minutes later went back to 70 and it was gone. The issue is that now it seems to be happening more often. Has anyone ever experienced this as this needs to be rectified and I don't want to baffle the service people!

Secondly, and rather worryingly too, I have been driving with the main lights on and the dashboard lights will cut off for a second or two. Let me reiterate that this has only happened 3 times on the motorway and all a few months ago but once again something to ponder.

Any advice/help will be much appreciated.

Thanks

 

[306maxi]

The lights on the dashboard go on and off with a light sensor

 

[babbo_umbro]

Hi there,

My other half has owned a 1.2 Pop for 3 years and there are certain things that are causing us a few worries. Now the car is going in for service in January but I was wondering if anybody has experienced the same issues.

I'll start with the first (which is slightly embarrassing as I can't really describe it). Sometimes when we are driving between 60 and 70mph there is like a whining noise coming from the front of the car, now the first time I heard it (around 16,000 miles clocked) I slowed the car down from 70 to 50 and it disappeared, then a couple of minutes later went back to 70 and it was gone. The issue is that now it seems to be happening more often. Has anyone ever experienced this as this needs to be rectified and I don't want to baffle the service people!

Secondly, and rather worryingly too, I have been driving with the main lights on and the dashboard lights will cut off for a second or two. Let me reiterate that this has only happened 3 times on the motorway and all a few months ago but once again something to ponder.

Any advice/help will be much appreciated.

Thanks

Does the bonnet shut tightly? As the noise seems to be be speed-related it could be aerodynamic and caused by a combination of speed and wind direction.

 

[jrkitching]

Intermittent whining noises at speed, eh?

Things to check include drive belts, tensioners, water pumps - & female passengers .

 

[ahmett]

Intermittent whining noises at speed, eh?

Things to check include drive belts, tensioners, water pumps - & female passengers .

Nice one jrkirching! Excuse my mechanical ignorance, but don't drive belts and the like make noise at low speed mainly? I have heard some serious shrieks from cars pulling from standstill at low rpm's!!

 

[jrkitching]

I have heard some serious shrieks from cars pulling from standstill at low rpm's!!

Belts (especially alternator drives) do often slip at low speeds, when the torque is greatest - but tensioners, bearings etc can have a 'sour spot'* for whining at practially any speed if the right bits get into resonance.

*that's like a sweet spot, only it's not so sweet .

 

[jnoiles]

Sometimes when we are driving between 60 and 70mph there is like a whining noise coming from the front of the car, now the first time I heard it (around 16,000 miles clocked) I slowed the car down from 70 to 50 and it disappeared, then a couple of minutes later went back to 70 and it was gone. The issue is that now it seems to be happening more often. Has anyone ever experienced this as this needs to be rectified and I don't want to baffle the service people!

Tighten the undertray bolts. When they work very slightly loose, at motorway speeds with a slight crosswind coming in from the right you can get what sounds like a whining noise. It drove me mad for a few weeks. When I changed the oil and put the undertray back on it stopped. It's happened twice now.

 

[Hayleyd]

Hi,

Was just wondering if someone could help me. I have had my brand new fiat 500 pop for 4 weeks now. When i picked the car up, as soon as I started the car there was a loud squealing noise (fan belt??) but was told it was because the car was new. 4 weeks later its still as loud as ever whenever I start the engine.
secondly, I've recently noticed this week when going into my works multi-storey car park there is a quiet sort of scraping noise when my wheel is on full lock to the right, and sometimes this noise is heard when braking but not all of the time. I'm thinking of taking it back to the garage after the Xmas period but don't want to feel stupid if its just the normal kind of noises a new car makes.

 

[alexh365]

Hi,

Was just wondering if someone could help me. I have had my brand new fiat 500 pop for 4 weeks now. When i picked the car up, as soon as I started the car there was a loud squealing noise (fan belt??) but was told it was because the car was new. 4 weeks later its still as loud as ever whenever I start the engine.
secondly, I've recently noticed this week when going into my works multi-storey car park there is a quiet sort of scraping noise when my wheel is on full lock to the right, and sometimes this noise is heard when braking but not all of the time. I'm thinking of taking it back to the garage after the Xmas period but don't want to feel stupid if its just the normal kind of noises a new car makes.

Brand new + squealing = trip to dealer. Occasionally a new belt might be squeaky, it could be that the tension isn't right but I'm sure the dealership wont mind you taking it along to get it looked at.

 

[babbo_umbro]

It's obviously best to be gentle - but firm - with your dealer. Sounds as though the fan belt - or maybe air con drive belt - is slipping and the scraping noise is not right either. They should have noticed and rectified both before releasing the car to you - take it in and politely tell them to fix both problems.