I have a 1996 Chevy Lumina Sedan with a 3.1l engine. When I turn the engine on I hear an obvious whining that changes with the engine speed. The whining goes away as the engine increases speed but returns when stopped at traffic lights or idling. The whining seems to be quieter when the A/C is turned on though the A/C does not produce cold air.
I am told that I need a new A/C compressor pulley. Should I replace the whole compressor? Should I also replace the accumulator/drier and expansion tube or is this essential? Is it another issue altogether?
I had a similar problem with my 99 Lumina a few years ago. It ended up being a bad belt tensioner pulley.
The pattern you describe is consistent with an alternator going bad. Maybe the fields are already rubbing together. Test it this way: Start the car and leave on idle, when the whine is worse, then start using up electricity, by increasing the demand. Turn on AC, then lights, then full blower and then high beams. If there is a change in the whine, then either alternator or voltage regulator is the culprit. When a compressor pulley bearing is bad, noise shifts just by turning AC on and off.
Is the AC compressor working at all when activated?, because you mentioned that AC is not cold. Maybe the compressor clutch has something to do with whine. Test this way: 1) Turn on car, and have somebody else turn AC on and off. Meanwhile you observe closely when AC is off, with the car idling, that the compressor is standing still. When AC is activated, you should see the compressor starting to rotate. If it does not rotate, then the compressor clutch is not working properly, and that is why you do not get cold air, and it could be the source of whining.
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I replaced the alternator and the tensioner pulley because they were bad. The whining persists.
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