Hi,

My 2006 1.6tdci focus has developed a very high pitched whistle within the last mile or so. I have a recording which I'll post later when back home. The whistle started out of nowhere, and is always present. At idle, it is very quiet, and increases in both pitch and volume as revs go up. After about 2k revs, i assume its still there but engine noise takes over.

A quick Google search has suggested either a split pipe somewhere, auxiliary drive belt or the alternator. I opened the bonnet and, with the engine running, felt a warm draft in one place, near where a pipe meets the front of the engine. I'm unsure of whether this is normal or not.

Any ideas of what it could be?

Thanks in advance,

Minnis

sounds like a boost leakage, take off your pipes main 1 for prone leakage is the top left hand corner that fits onto the metal pipe that runs along side the engine (drivers side) but can be anywhere in the intercooler pipe work range etc....

Thanks for the reply. I have no idea about cars lol, so it's going to the mechanic! Is it safe to drive in the meantime?

Hello, such a coincidence that my 2005 1.6 tdci has developed the exact same problem. There no noticeable drop in performance. I would be very interested in the result.

Regards

Good news and bad news.

Good news: Progress!

Bad news: My car's now refusing to start. (Luckily it happened after we got back home!)

I charged my car battery up a couple of weeks ago as the battery was ever so slightly flat. Not majorly flat, however, but especially due to the cold weather I wanted to charge it to avoid, well, this.

It's not even turning over, and the battery is registering a low 11v.

This was after a journey of about 10-15 miles, with lights and heater on. The whistling started at the very end of the journey before this. The car started fine at the start of the journey, so the battery must have drained over the journey. As mentioned in the first post, this suggests the alternator.

Also, the whistling is loudest at 1000-1500rpm. Below this it's not really loud enough to be heard that well, and above this engine noise becomes too loud to hear the whistle properly.

Here is the recording of the whistling sound whilst driving. Ignore the satnav!

VN_20121215_000031_.mp3

Got it sorted. New battery and alternator fitted. Apparently, the battery was causing the alternator to put out 18-19v constantly, causing it to overheat.