Bad alternator?

Several months ago I noticed a distinct change in my engine noise, kind of a
low whine.

Took it to Honda and of course they couldn't hear it.

This morning when I started the car the noise is louder and all the
instrument panel lights stay on. It shows all the doors open, when they are
not.

Any ideas?

PS I should have taken it to a different honda dealer in the first place.

 

That's typical of pretty much any item that is doing something for the
owner, when that item goes to the shop (whether it's a car, tv or toaster)

Why do you say that? Have you experienced problems with the dealership you
went to, if so why did you go there again?

 

What model and year of Honda?
How many miles on it?
Are you driving it now, with all the instrument lights
staying on?

 

Brian,

While I appreciate your comments, I fail to see the relevance.

But anyway, this Honda dealer is the only one within 50 miles and I thought
I would at least give them a try before making a long drive.

 

1999 Honda Accord EXV6 with 69500 miles. New battery (4 months old)

Yes I could drive it, it seems to run OK, except for the whine and the
instrument cluster lights on.

I am going to disconnect the battery as a first step and see what that does.

Is there anything else to do when disconnecting the battery to delete all
the settings or to reset everything, other than let it sit for a while
before reconnecting the battery?

 

I feel for you. The trick is to isolate the noise to make sure you know
where the noise is coming from. This involves some work. Removing the
accessory drive belts and running the engine can help. Useing an
inexpensive mechanic's stethoscope can sometimes help pin down the
problem. Lastly, I have found the AC idler pulley (tensioner)is "on its
way out" on many Hondas. Good luck.

 

Sorry, just want to be very clear: The whine continues
through all driving conditions, right? Does the noise change
at all when you accelerate or decelerate? If so, how? Is it
worse at cold startup? Better at warm start up?

For reading any codes set off by this condition, see
http://www.tegger.com/hondafaq/faq.html, "Engine electrical
and On-Board Diagnostics (OBD)" section. Also, note its
cautions about resetting the Check Engine Light. (I know you
say you have all instrument panel lights on; still, there
are some caveats that seem applicable here, re resetting
via disconnecting the battery.)

A bad alternator should light only the charging system
warning lamp (has a little battery icon on it, which is
misleading). Also, it's a little early for the alternator's
brushes (usually the first alternator item to fail) to be
worn on your car.

Still, what led to the new battery? Had you done many
jumpstarts and then re-charging of the battery, using the
alternator, before today? That will wear an alternator down
more quickly, since it's actually not designed to charge
batteries from dead.

Had any other maintenance done on the car recently? Like a
new timing belt?

 

The whine does increase and decrease with the accelerator.

 

I imagine you already know this, but I'd be under the hood,
with someone else at the wheel, the car in neutral, pushing
the gas pedal at your signal, and trying to narrow the
source down, like duckbill said. Also, I'd try to see if any
code was set, per my previous post.

Updates welcome. With all the lights coming on, I'd sure be
concerned it was a major engine component being affected.