So, the rescue SSB-SRT had been making a faint whining noise after cranking and idling through warm up that had been dissappearing, to a no noise condition. I cranked it the other day and was waiting through warm up, couple minutes, the noise didn't go away. I revved it a little to see if it would dissappear and noticed a whisp of smoke coming from the edges of the hood...serious smoke...I switched off the engine and popped the hood whereby, letting the plastic smelling smoke dissipate. Worrying about electrical issues, I disconnected the battery cable. I still could not discern where the smoke was coming from. I began feeling around and noticed that the underside of the alternator was hotter than a 2 dollar pistol <stolen..RIP G.J.> ..considering that the engine only ran for maybe three minutes tops. I let it sit in the driveway and cool. Later reconnected the battery to crank it and pull it forward into the garage, I didnt go through a warm up of longer than 15 seconds, whining, I pulled it into the garage, popped the hood and disconnected the battery. The smoke was just beginning..still smelled like plastic. The belt looks fine. This alternator has been rebuilt twice and the first time it lasted 6 months. This time it lasted over a year. There are no fault lights on the dash lit. Where do I start troubleshooting this? If I run the engine to test voltage output the smoke will begin. Remove the belt and check for resistance at the alternator pulley, should spin freely? Thanks yall...Peace

 

Was the rescue from flood damage? I'm wondering why the bad luck with the two previous alternators. Warranty? Anyway... Me, since I don't know how to properly test the diode, resistance, etc. on an alternator, I would remove it and bring it to my local O'Riley's where they would bench test it for me. But something seems really wrong that two previous alternators have failed prematurely for you like that. Good luck w/ it.

 

I removed the fan assembly so that I could get to the belt tensioner and removed the belt. The alternator spins freely. I reinstalled the fan assembly and started the car and ran to the front to watch for smoke. I saw through the vents in the alternator housing, sparks for only a moment, then they dissappeared not to return, no whining this run and still no smoke. I checked the voltage at the battery terminals and got 14 at first , then they dropped after 15 minutes of running to 13.7. With the headlights on high beam, and the internal blower fan on high, I was only getting a reading of 13v. I did detect a faint smell of plastic heating during the 15 minutes of run time but never saw any smoke this time. I test drove it down the street at a high RPM hoping to hear whining or see smoke. Neither occurred. Seems to be operating correctly now, but I don't think I trust the alternator and probably should replace it.

 

I had a pulley that was seizing up and running slower than the belt, there was a whine and smoke then the pulley seized up solid.
I got home just in time, the plastic pulley was quite a mess and so was the belt.

 

I just drove it to town and back with no issues. No lights on the dash either, always a good sign.

 

Well...I figured the alternator was the issue. I got 3 more months out of it and the battery light came on yesterday and the whining noise was back. There is no smoke this time, and no voltage output. I just ordered a new Valeo, should be here next week. Dang, now I have to drive the black srt.