I have a 2007 Dodge Grand Caravan with a 3.8L engine. It makes a whirring noise when I start it. The sound is constant while the vehicle is running and increases slightly with acceleration. When I take my foot off the gas, it slowly comes back down to it’s starting point but is still whirring. My hunch is that is might be a sign of my alternator starting to go, but wanted to get your opinion.
Alternator sometimes do this before they go bad.
Do you recommend a proactive approach, or should I see how long it will go? How long do you usually have when they start that? I only drive that car local.
My 2007 with the 3.3 has made a sound when cold in cold weather that I’ve come to believe is the power steering pump. But no change in years and I am not worried about it any more. If you want to investigate, you could take off the serpentine belt and then feel all the pulleys it drives for any roughness or play. The spring in the tensioner pulley could also be involved. I did replace that part on an earlier van with the 3.3.
You could even drive the van a short distance (to avoid overheating) without the belt on. That would help determine if the noise involves the belt and its driven components. Putting a new belt on might even quiet things somewhat.
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Alternator was the issue. Was monitoring it with my bluetooth ODM reader and was able to watch the alternator give out as I drove. Dropped to 10V and battery light came on. Got it home and it was done. Replaced alternator and now have a new problem. Getting trouble code U110C. Just posted the question on a new thread. If you have any insights let me know. Thanks for your help.