whirring engine noise???

[Bilulan]

my wife's 98 accord started to make a whirring noise in the engine compartment. This also triggered the 'SRS' light which I have since read on honda threads how to reset. All is fine with the SRS light now, nonetheless, I still have this strange noise.
Looks like the SRS light is sensitive in accords with any electrical jumps.

Back to the engine, it sounds like motor noise you get when you hook up an aftermarket stereo and you don't ground it well. The noise ties in with engine rev. The more the rev, the higher the motor noise sound is. We're not talking huge whistle, just a faint whirring that can be heard over the normal engine turning. The noise appears to come from the power steering fluid reservoir/alternator/belts area. I topped off the power steering fluid which was near the lower level, but that wasn't the problem.
(extra info, car just passed 50k miles)

I searched some Accord forums but couldn't find any information. Any ideas?

 

[nsxdreamin]

whirring???

open your hood and see if you can pinpoint the noise just by listening. its most likely going to be coming from the alternator, power sterring pump or a/c pump. if you cant seem to pinpoint it then grab a wooden broomstick or other wooden shaft. place one end on various places on the engine and the other end, cup it with half a fist and put your ear to your hand. dont let the stick touch your ear, may give you a headache. this is a redneck stethoscope and works quite well for finding any strange noise in your engine


Levi Holiday
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[BostonNSX]

I'm having similar sound when I start my AC too
how shall I do with it?

 

[nsxdreamin]

same way

do it the same way, but when is the sound happening, is it happening while the a/c in on or off. if off then the clucth on the pump is bad, if it occurs while the pump is running then the pump may be going out. i would wait till it is dead before replacing it. it might live forever even with the noises

 

[Bilulan]

Re: same way

I used the wooden broomstick handle technique. Felt a little stupid, but it actually helped me pinpoint it to the alternator. Atleast from the differing sounds, The alternator area is where my noise is coming from.

thanks

 

[nsxdreamin]

stupid???

you shouldnt feel too stupid about it, i just saved you over one hundred dollars. plus i did say it was a redneck stethoscope. how many smart rednecks do you know, lol. take off the belt to your alternator and see if the problem cotinues. that will give you the deifinite answer to if your alt is going bad. plus if you have a lot of draw on the alt such as stereo equipment, etc, it could just be overloading the alterator. i am glad i was able to help out

 

[azguy2000]

MY dads 98 accord does this too....