I have a 1998 se, and this past winter the motor started to make a funny whining noise, almost like a whistle but not quite. I thought maybe the cold had something to do with it, but it hasn't gone away. It does it all the time, cold or warm, and gets louder with more throttle. It's very audible from within the car, almost sounds like intake noise, but if I stick my ear inside the engine compartment it sounds like it's coming from inside the motor. Anyone have any idea what this could be? It hasn't adversly affected anything, the car runs fine. It does have 150k on it so I guess these things are expected, just wondering if there was a fix. Sorry I don't have more info, but I'll answer any questions. Thanks.

 

bump bump bump

 

sounds like it could be your alternator whining, see if you can tell which side of the engine its coming from, because i doubt its coming from inside. i dont know if whining means that the alternator is going out or what. mine whines a little, and my dad's van whines like crazy, but theyve both been doing that for a long time. anyways, good luck.

 

Does it whine depending on the throttle? I've got a whine that goes with my engine as I putt along but as soon as I depress the clutch it stops, only whines in time with the throttle I'm giving...probably the same problem you're having.

 

Mine whines a little, but only when the air is on. Because of this, I think it is either the alternator whining....with the extra strain on it from the air/the air compressor/ or both.

 

Hmm...didn't think about the alternator. I have noticed that my interior lights have been dim at idle and brighter when I give it a little throttle, and also that the ac fan will blow noticably harder with a little throttle. Think the alternator is going/not supplying enough juice?

 

Mine is doing the same thing, regardless of whether I have the clutch pedal in or not. The pitch changes as you give the engine more throttle. I just posted a thread about this Sunday afternoon. Anyhow, if its not your alternator, it is most likely the idler pulley.

 

Ditto for me

 

maybe you have a magic turbo

 

Might as well check that alternator they are notoriuous for failing in maximas.

 

I got a problem with whinning for a long time before i find it.

The whinning soud was there when the car began to be hot. The sound was loud at idle but when i revved the car the sound was almost gone.

I thought it was the idler pulley wich i replace and it was not that. I knew it wasen't the alternator.

I finally find my whinning sound. It was my water pump.

The sound was coming from the timing chain cover side.There is 2 metallic covers that can be removed on the timing chain cover. 1 on the left ( firewall side) and 1 on the right (front of the vehicule side). The right cover is where belongs the water pump and the other cover is where belongs the timing chain tensioner.

To know if it's your water pump, use a s***hoscope ( like doctors use to hear the heart) but for cars or a screwdriver and put the tip of the s***hoscope on the right cover. If you hear a heavy whinning it's your water pump.

This sound drove me crazy for like 1 year and i finally found it. Hope my sharing will help you guys!!

 

This symptom doesn't point to a failing idler pulley at all. With the idler pulley, the pitch of the whinning sound changes with the revving of the engine. Yours didn't.

 

I know about that, it was a whinning noise i got. If it's not his idler pulley he will have something else to watch.

 

I would say that it is quite possibly the alternator.
I would just go ahead and put another one in.....it would not hurt, and would probably be good preventative maintenance. I think I am going to do the same soon.

It should not be that hard to replace....I have not done it on the Max, but I have on other Japanese cars.

Good luck.

 

Don't always trust the check of the alternator.
I had one checked....from Autozone....and it was "fine." The next day, it failed, and I had to replace it.

Just a hint.

 

How do you know the guys at autozone didn't sabotage ur alternator?

I have the same exact problem: that darn whistling that coordinates to throddle. It's defintely not the idler pulley for me, I replaced mine. My noise is defintely coming from the drive belt area, but the noise is really hard to isolate. Although I don't know where to get a s***hoscope to listen for the whistle, I'm using a socket wrench entension to hold against different parts of the car to try and figure out where the whistle is coming from. I thought it was the PS pump- that the fluid was gunking up the little fan inside the pump and I've been replacing the resevior half at a time. I gotta do it again later today. So far no improvement. I suppose I'll check the alternator again. Lemme know as you diagnose urs...