Popping in dash/ Engine Bay?

[Notan_S54]

Hey guys, after doing a bit of searching I could find people with similar scenarios but not quite what I’m experiencing. I’m getting a popping sound in the dash that sounds like those little pop it’s you throw on 4th of July. My radio also keeps cutting out, but I believe I’m having a battery issue that’s alternator related. This also happens more so when the car is idle than when driving. The popping can’t be summoned on demand so I don’t really have a way to diagnose. Thanks in advanced to anyone that has a hunch of what’s going on.

[PetrolM3]

Why do you think it's alternator related? Is your battery light coming on?

A good start would be to take a look around the serpentine belt area with engine on to see if you can spot any problems. Remove the serpentine belt and see if there's anything loose or any pulleys seized and go from there...

[davidinnyc]

Any blown fuses?

[heinzboehmer]

Does the popping sound like it's coming from the speakers? My battery recently died and my speakers would pop as the voltage came down.

If you think you're having alternator issues, I'd measure battery voltage with the engine at idle and at some rpm higher than idle. Significant difference between the values would indicate a fault somewhere in the charging system.

[Notan_S54]

Why do you think it's alternator related? Is your battery light coming on?

A good start would be to take a look around the serpentine belt area with engine on to see if you can spot any problems. Remove the serpentine belt and see if there's anything loose or any pulleys seized and go from there...

battery light flickers for fraction of a second and then stays off intermittently. I know my alternator is a goner because I’ve had it tested and it’s putting out 3V. Thank you for the pointers, I’ll get started on those today.

[Notan_S54]

Does the popping sound like it's coming from the speakers? My battery recently died and my speakers would pop as the voltage came down.

If you think you're having alternator issues, I'd measure battery voltage with the engine at idle and at some rpm higher than idle. Significant difference between the values would indicate a fault somewhere in the charging system.

Indy shop I took it to has the tests and marked them down. I’ll take a look at them when I get back home. The popping sound sounds like it comes directly from the dash on the left side by the cluster. If you’re was the speakers after the battery went out, I’ll have to consider that and listen carefully now. It’s just the strangest thing!

[PetrolM3]

Considering the symptoms, I wouldn't keep driving it until you address the alternator. It will either leave you stranded, kill your battery, or cause other damage depending on what the actual issue is.

[Notan_S54]

Considering the symptoms, I wouldn't keep driving it until you address the alternator. It will either leave you stranded, kill your battery, or cause other damage depending on what the actual issue is.

I had to figure that out the hard way 🙃
hasn’t move since finding out the alternator is toast cause the new battery is now, also toast