two unrelated questions

[jrd1990zr1]

I just took my Z down from the lift and found out the battery didn't have enough juice to start it. Jumped it, started right up. I let it run for awhile to look for a very minor noise from the front of the engine which appears to be the belt tensioner fluttering. I also detect a slight bearing noise. Are tensioners making this type a noise common? I initially thought it might be the alternator but it does not sound like it. Any thoughts?

2nd while the car was running charging the battery I turned the dash lights on to check the charging. I noticed quite a bit of flickering in the interior lights. Does this sound more like a bad battery, or when I pull the plenum should I have the alternator checked out? Any thoughts?

Thanks, John

[tccrab]

C4's are especially sensitive to low battery voltage.
If your battery is anywhere near it's expected lifetime, change it out.
Clean & wire brush the battery terminals while you're in there.
You shouldn't have any more troubles, but if you do, the next thing is to track down all the engine & chassis ground connections and clean them up.
(you probably won't have to do this, just change the battery).

Idlers make noise as they age/wear. When it gets noisy enough to bother you, change it out. As I recall, the pulley for our ZR1's is a little different than a LT1 or L98 but they still work.
I'll have to dig through the archives, there was a thread about 6 months ago that detailed the differences and also where to buy them without breaking the bank.

Good Luck!

TomC
'Crabs

I just got done with a car that had a consistent dead battery. It boiled down to somebody leaving a light on and running it down, and it then proceeded to kill the alternator. The alt would not charge a new battery period.

Do not neglect your battery

[Jim Nolan]

Years ago I had an '87 that would go through batterys and alternators about once a year. What I found was a bad switch for the passenger side power window up only. Whenever I tried to find a short I usually had the windows down and it would drive me carzy. If the car would sit for 3 or 4 days, dead battery. I only found it by mistake while working on something else.

Good luck!

[XfireZ51]

Originally Posted by Jim Nolan

I only found it by mistake while working on something else.

Good luck!

If I only had a nickel for every time this happened.

[-=Jeff=-]

my 90 had a bearing type noise.. I replaced the pulley on the tensioner, it helped, but noise was still there. i noticed my tensioner was fluttering too, so i replaced it.

this was July 2009, I drove 1400 miles, then had to change the Water pump, due to a leak, found out the noise was the Water pump bearings, on the car i could not tell they were going, once off I could.

then this December i replaced the Alt. bearings were bad on it too. now keep in mind when I got the car in 2007 is was too rough shape and had 60K miles. but it is possible your pump or Alt bearings might be going bad too

[jrd1990zr1]

Originally Posted by -=Jeff=-

my 90 had a bearing type noise.. I replaced the pulley on the tensioner, it helped, but noise was still there. i noticed my tensioner was fluttering too, so i replaced it.

this was July 2009, I drove 1400 miles, then had to change the Water pump, due to a leak, found out the noise was the Water pump bearings, on the car i could not tell they were going, once off I could.

then this December i replaced the Alt. bearings were bad on it too. now keep in mind when I got the car in 2007 is was too rough shape and had 60K miles. but it is possible your pump or Alt bearings might be going bad too

Thanks to all for the advice.

The noise is really not that bad, I just am trying to get the car ready for the gathering. Long ride from NY to BG, don't want any problems. I may change out the tensioner, I see one from Partsladi on E-Bay for $149.00. Is this about the right priice for one? They claim they are OEM GM and not reproductions.

I am going to pull the alternator and can have it bench checked, maybe if it is a bearing it will show up. Maybe I should pack a WP for the trip to BG???

New FIC injectors, oil cooler lines and I may try to pull the shroud and see if there is debris in between the radiator and condensor. Any hints on doing that?

Thanks in advance, John

[Aurora40]

I think a battery charger would be a better way to charge it in the future, vs letting the car run. I believe that can be hard on the alternator.

[-=Jeff=-]

I got my Tensioner from the Partsladi for that price.. as far as I know it is OEM

[jrd1990zr1]

Originally Posted by Aurora40

I think a battery charger would be a better way to charge it in the future, vs letting the car run. I believe that can be hard on the alternator.

I am pretty sure the battery is DOA. It was on a tender, so I need a new one for the BG trip.

I had to move the car to get it over to my 2 post lift so I wanted to run it for a little while. I read it was not a good idea to only run a ZR1 for a short time due to leakage by the valve stems into the crankcase so I let it run about 45 minutes.

My concern was the fluctuation in the interior lights while it was running. I thought maybe I had a bad alternator bearing which was causing the wirling sound and the voltage flutter. I am going to pull it and have it bench tested.

I agree with your comment, it was not my primary intent.

Thanks, John