Could bad alternator or belt cause rough idle or pinging?

[AJ88]

So I'm working out the kinks but I'm almost there. I was wondering if my alternator or belt could be causing a rough idle. The red battery light is illuminated and flickers at idle. The battery itself is new and if I drive on the highway for a while the light slowly goes away and the amps climb up closer to where they belong. As of now the amps sit around 11 at start-up I think. It gets worse and goes down if i turn on the heat or headlights too. Could this cause the rough idle? Could it just be a loose belt or is it the alternator? The car drives fine otherwise besides a slight pinging and bogging once warmed up. Could both these issues be related? Any thoughts or help is appreciated.

 

[Dugan]

Re: Could bad alternator or belt cause rough idle or pinging

Pinging could be too much advanced timing. Does it struggle to start sometimes? Take your alternator to a place like autozone they test for free

 

[rustyroger]

Re: Could bad alternator or belt cause rough idle or pinging

Seems you have a bad alternator, repair or replace anyway.I doubt if it will have much affect on how your car runs unless it is a very modern engine.
A good tune up also sounds neccesary.

Roger.

 

[67rstbkt]

Re: Could bad alternator or belt cause rough idle or pinging

My GP had a similar charging issue. My idle was fine, but I did get the flickering light you describe. The guys at autozone wanted to test my alternator, and guess what? The machine said the alternator was fine, well I told them not to believe everything a machine tells them and asked to buy the new alternator. Put it in and the problem was resolved.

 

[AJ88]

Re: Could bad alternator or belt cause rough idle or pinging

Thanks for the responses. Do you think it could be just a loose belt?

 

[67rstbkt]

Re: Could bad alternator or belt cause rough idle or pinging

Thanks for the responses. Do you think it could be just a loose belt?

Well check it and find out, lol.

 

[AJ88]

Re: Could bad alternator or belt cause rough idle or pinging

Haha yeah I know. I live in the city and work all day. It's cold and by the time I get out it's dark but I'll probably get into it tomorrow. I'm really hoping its just a loose/slipping belt.

 

[67rstbkt]

Re: Could bad alternator or belt cause rough idle or pinging

Haha yeah I know. I live in the city and work all day. It's cold and by the time I get out it's dark but I'll probably get into it tomorrow. I'm really hoping its just a loose/slipping belt.

man up and do it 😀 I used to work on my Cutlass in front of my parents house in BK all the time; rain, dark, cold, whatever. Besides, it only takes a few minutes to check. Just apply pressure (with engine off of course) to get an idea of how loose/tight it is. Also, you should be able to watch it with the car running to see if it's bouncing around.

BTW, your Cutlass is very similar looking to my old 87 I used to have. I wonder if that car is still terrorizing the streets of brooklyn, lol

 

[rustyroger]

Re: Could bad alternator or belt cause rough idle or pinging

If the belt was so loose the light took ages to go out it would squeal like a stuck pig.

You almost certainly have a bad alternator, and it sounds like your car needs a tune up.

If the weather is crap where you are that's too bad, Murphys law states that if it goes wrong it will do so at the most inconvenient time and place.

Roger.

 

[AJ88]

Re: Could bad alternator or belt cause rough idle or pinging

Checked the belt and it's fine. I then had autozone check the alternator and they said it was fine. Bad gound? Autozone full of sh*t? Anyway I just drove out to Long Island this weekend which is about a 2 hour trip and my car pinged and bogged like crazy once warm and this is with 93 octane so I'm loosing it. Maybe it's the EGR but it makes me want to sell the car. My plugs are brand new. Thanks for the replies.