# Car makes chirping noise when idle

**URL:** <https://community.cartalk.com/t/car-makes-chirping-noise-when-idle/62093>\
**Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\
**Tags:** airconditioning, rsx, acura\
**Created:** [March 2, 2011, 12:34pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/car-makes-chirping-noise-when-idle/62093 "2011-03-02T12:34:14Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![xqzrty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/ee7513/32.png) [@xqzrty](https://community.cartalk.com/u/xqzrty)\
**Post date:** [March 2, 2011, 12:34pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/car-makes-chirping-noise-when-idle/62093/1 "2011-03-02T12:34:14Z")

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Whenever it rains and I have my car in drive (idling at say an stop sign or intersection), I can hear my car chirp. If I give it gas or shift it to neutral, the chirping sound goes away. When I have the AC on, the car will chirp even in neutral, but will not chirp when I give it gas.  
  
  
  
 What could be wrong? Could it be a pulley?

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**Author:** ![mleich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71c47a/32.png) [@mleich](https://community.cartalk.com/u/mleich)\
**Post date:** [March 2, 2011, 12:41pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/car-makes-chirping-noise-when-idle/62093/2 "2011-03-02T12:41:46Z")

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Most likely your belts or a belt tensioner (if so equipped). Easy to replace.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![xqzrty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/ee7513/32.png) [@xqzrty](https://community.cartalk.com/u/xqzrty)\
**Post date:** [March 2, 2011, 12:43pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/car-makes-chirping-noise-when-idle/62093/3 "2011-03-02T12:43:21Z")

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I replaced the belt and it still does this. I’ll check out the belt tensioner later. It seems like it went bad pretty prematurely. I mean I baby my car and it has just under 50k on it.

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**Author:** ![mleich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71c47a/32.png) [@mleich](https://community.cartalk.com/u/mleich)\
**Post date:** [March 2, 2011, 12:49pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/car-makes-chirping-noise-when-idle/62093/4 "2011-03-02T12:49:27Z")

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You may not have put it on tight enough. Was the old one giving you problems as well?

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![xqzrty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/ee7513/32.png) [@xqzrty](https://community.cartalk.com/u/xqzrty)\
**Post date:** [March 2, 2011, 2:24pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/car-makes-chirping-noise-when-idle/62093/5 "2011-03-02T14:24:18Z")

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Well I’m about 99 percent sure its on correctly. The other one wasnt giving me trouble but someone suggested it could be that so I went and ran with it–wasn’t ready to spend more money on a tensioner and fund out it ws just the belt

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**Author:** ![Honda-Blackbird](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/honda-blackbird/32/3159_2.png) [@Honda-Blackbird](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Honda-Blackbird)\
**Post date:** [March 2, 2011, 5:19pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/car-makes-chirping-noise-when-idle/62093/6 "2011-03-02T17:19:50Z")

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Babying the car has nothing to do with the serpintine belt tensioner…they are spring loaded and set to a predetermined spring tenstion. They fatigue over time…Also you will want to pay close attention to any idler pulleys in the belt system…Alternator bearings have a tendency to momentarily elicit a loud squeak…then go away…and back again…the idler bearings do the same thing too.