People,
2009 BMW 328i, original owner, 70,000 miles, manual trans. When I shift gears with ac on there is a whining sound that increases with pitch matching the gears I am shifting. The sound matched 100% with the rpm's. But as soon as I turn off the ac button the whining stops.
AC is ice cold. Could it be a bad serpentine belt? Compressor starting to go bad (bearings, etc)? Maybe the spring tensioner on the serpentine belt?
Thanks, People.
Whining sound when ac is on
Re: Whining sound when ac is on
If my vehicle, I'd pull the serpentine belt and then spin the tensioner pulley by hand, and feel/listen for an issue with that.Noquacks wrote: Fri Oct 23, 2026 2:46 pm Could it be a bad serpentine belt? Compressor starting to go bad (bearings, etc)? Maybe the spring tensioner on the serpentine belt?
And how old id your serpentine belt?
Re: Whining sound when ac is on
Thanks, Cusser. belt is original from 2009. But I inspect it every 6 months or so and it still looks like new. This car has ben garage kept since new in 2009. So I JUST removed the belt by loosening the tensioner, and spun the pulley left/right, smooth, no noises/grinding, etc. I put the belt back on. So now, do we suspect the bearing in the compressor?Cusser wrote: Sat Oct 24, 2026 6:14 amIf my vehicle, I'd pull the serpentine belt and then spin the tensioner pulley by hand, and feel/listen for an issue with that.Noquacks wrote: Fri Oct 23, 2026 2:46 pm Could it be a bad serpentine belt? Compressor starting to go bad (bearings, etc)? Maybe the spring tensioner on the serpentine belt?
And how old id your serpentine belt?