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That's a new one for me, my guess is the alt. is croaking but really not sure what it's doing, wish I could be more helpful.
Which pulley do you see the spark at? The alt.? I was just wondering if your A/C clutch could be doing that noise.
Normally I'd suggest pulling the alt and cleaning the contacts and having it tested but pulling the alt on a Rio is a royal PITA.
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My cars: 2003 Kia Rio, 1977 Dodge W300 Wrecker, 1986 Chevy Monte Carlo, 1977 Ford F250 Wrecker, 1985 Subaru GL, 1986 Audi 5000S, 1990 E150, 1983 Chevy Monte Carlo, 1982 Ford Mustang, 1978 Ford F150, 1988 Mercury Grand Marquis
There is supposed to be a ground wire from back corner of head (near valve cover) to the body near the strut tower. I couldn't tell if it was there in the video, but check and see that it was reconnected after the engine was replaced. Also check to make sure the purge control wiring hasn't fallen down and rubbing against alternator pulley. The purge valve just slips on with rubber grommet and plat piece of metal way in back near alternator. If Alternator is charging....I wouldn't take it out... just see if connections are good as best you can.
Keep in mind the A/C compressor clutch has an electromagnet that is powered (and pulls some juice), and wire leading to it could be grounding slightly( a good ground ought to blow the fuse and stop that nonsense).
How about another thought...
The "sound" of the engine in the video sounds like a bad bearing.... If the pulleys wobble from a bad bearing they may be scraping another part (mounting bracket, engine block, etc)...An idea similar to an old "ZIPPO" lighter...
Adjustable tension pulley bearing can sound like that
Take it for what it's worth..
Dave
@Dog The ticking sound definitely coincides with a small blue spark jumping from the crank pulley to the frame.
@kevster The ground from the top back corner of the head is connected and shows good continuity. The alternator is charging well but I should recheck the wiring connections. The purge valve is in place and nothing is rubbing on any belts.
@DavesSpectra The tick sound is absolutely a spark jumping from the crank pulley to the frame.
While I'm checking wiring connections I'll also look at the a/c comp to make sure everything is connected well.
This car has several little problems since the engine change and perhaps they are related. Occasionally I get p0101 and p0172 and the engine start to hesitate just a tiny bit. Perhaps this electrical / static issue is causing the sensors problems.
Thanks for the feedback. I'll update when I find something.
The 12volts is not enough to create enough potential to jump the 1/4~ 1/2" from the crank pulley to the body/frame... If the engine is "floating" above ground (bad/missing ground strap). The ground from the two coil packs being grounded to the engine block may actually allow the high voltage from the coils to back feed from any ground location close to the engine... So a ground strap "may" be what to look for.
I don't think the sparks are coming from a build up of static charge from the belts moving over the pulleys (van der graaf generator)...so it's either metal against metal (sparks) or a really bad ground...
Try taking a good jumper cable from the negatve terminal of the battery and clip it directy onto the engine block...If the sparking stops then you DO have a bad ground problem.
It's hard to diagnose over many miles...BUT I do want to hear what is/was causing the sparking...
OH...I just saw the magic words ... "Engine Change" I do believe the person that did it did NOT properly ground the engine...
Dave
Last edited by DavesSpectra; 01-25-2013 at 09:57 PM.
Yeah, I'd guess bad ground too now that I know where the spark is at. You might be able to verify a ground fault by using a set of jumper cables and using them to ground the engine to the chassis and then starting her up and observe whether the noise/spark has stopped.
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My cars: 2003 Kia Rio, 1977 Dodge W300 Wrecker, 1986 Chevy Monte Carlo, 1977 Ford F250 Wrecker, 1985 Subaru GL, 1986 Audi 5000S, 1990 E150, 1983 Chevy Monte Carlo, 1982 Ford Mustang, 1978 Ford F150, 1988 Mercury Grand Marquis
If this is truely the case...I would be worried about the high voltage trying to find a good ground and backfeeding through sensors to find a ground in the ECM or TCM.
Lots of electronic controls are/were not designed to be protected from HV and FET (field effect transistors) and cmos ICs are VERY static/HV sensitive and can be damaged from that.
10% of 30KV (spark voltages) is still 3000v, 1% is 300v... still way to high for devices designed to operate on 5v or 3.3v.. The hv pulses will confuse readings of sensors and will confuse the ECM/ECU and will generate "false" codes.
If a ground is missing I would suggest getting it replaced ASAP to limit the damage.
Dave
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2004 rio small spark from pulleys
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