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electrical squeal thats constant/never changes

T

twoleos617

New member
I have a very high pitched electrical squeal that occurs at all times, from engine start to engine off. It never changes pitch or volume under any circumstances. I cant seem to track it down as it seems like i can hear it from the engine bay and under the car but cant distinguish which side? As vaugue as this description is, has anyone else run into this?
 


An electrical squeal? The only squeal I could even think of being close is a tensioner. A mechanics stethoscope comes in very handy in this situation either that or a really long screwdriver or other long rod. Place one end on the bolt of the tensioner and your thumb on the other end then press your thumb knuckle in your ear and listen.

Jeff
 
Did you recently install anything electric? Radio? Gauge? If its coming from your speakers you have a ground loop interference.. whatever you installed needs a ground loop isolator, or ground it somewhere else.
 
I can seem to remember an issue similar to this on a 1998 Buick Lesabre. Try making sure all of your accessories are unplugged. I once had a cigarette lighter port that was really corroded and nasty, and if I plugged something into it, I would get a high pitched squeal. Replacing the lighter port fixed the issue.

Pretty sure the "squeal" noise was coming from the alternator when this happened.
 
FYI, electricity does not squeal.

As mentioned, a stethoscope is needed. If you don't have one, take a piece of hose (fuel, air etc) and cut it to 2-3' long; works just the same as a stethoscope.
 


So taking everyone's advice I took another listen and it seems as though the sound is not coming from under the hood but from the rear of the car. I can hear the noise well from both wheelwells as well as in the trunk. After comments here and in research on the forum, it looks like I might have an angry fuel pump. Now I just need to see what it would take to repair or replace it. The search continues…
 
Since you didn't post what year your GP is and how many miles are on it, I would suggest replacing the fuel filter first if you haven't at some point and see if the pump quiets down. When the filter gets clogged it will make the pump work harder, hence the noise.
 
Thanks for the heads up. I have an 04 with 124k mi. Fuel filter was replaced at around 100k mi. I'll replace it again as cheap insurance and hope for the best. Great thought.
 
Bronco Boy said:
FYI, electricity does not squeal.

As mentioned, a stethoscope is needed. If you don't have one, take a piece of hose (fuel, air etc) and cut it to 2-3' long; works just the same as a stethoscope.
Click to expand...

Firstly, it can and does squeal. in fact electricity makes lots of noises. Lightning cracks, High voltages and amperage's hum, feedback loops squeal. A good example of this is install a wideband and ground it near the radio or speakers ground, ill put 20 bucks down you hear a nice high pitch squeel. Ground loop interference is a *****, need a ground loop isolator to take care of the problem, I needed one in my car. Its basically a low pass filter, high frequencies cant pass through it.

so again I ask, did you install any new electronics or touch anything electronic?

It very well could also be your fuel pump or alternator dying.
 


Thanks I was having this issue. I bought a ground loop isolator last night. Will arrive by Friday. Let you know how it works!
 
FordMan77 said:
Since you didn't post what year your GP is and how many miles are on it, I would suggest replacing the fuel filter first if you haven't at some point and see if the pump quiets down. When the filter gets clogged it will make the pump work harder, hence the noise.
Click to expand...

You sir, are THE man. Sure enough, a 10 minute filter change solved the problem instantaneously. I wouldn't in a million years have thought about the strain on the pump. Thank you for giving me my sanity back!
 
Lol, it was pissed off alright. I wouldn't have guessed that, but I had an S-10 2.8 manual that had a filter so clogged the truck would buck and bark the tires. It was very embarrassing. The filter was so clogged that when I tried to blow into it, it pressurized and when I moved out of the way vapor came out. About 2 weeks later the pump failed.



Jeff
 


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