For the last week or so I have noticed a definite "sound" when I start my car. I don't know the ins-n-outs of how our starters work, but here is the best way for me to describe the sound... It sounds like something that is used to get things going is not fully disengaging. So that when things start spinning, whatever got them to get going is now being dragged in circles... Try it this way:

Electricity spins the starter...starter cranks the engine...engine starts...electricity then removed from starter...but the starter still "stuck" to the crank...thus getting spun from the other end.

Regardless...I know for sure it is not a normal sound...and it speeds up with higher RPM's 'til the engine noise drowns it out, but I know it's still there.

Any thoughts? Ideas? Questions?

 

No Check Engine Light=No Real Problem

 

Cam chain tensioner? How many miles on the car? Do you still have warranty?

 

The car is just about at 40k miles. I do have an extended warranty, but the dealer has told me before that "...if they check the car for a problem but don't find one then I have to pay for the labor..." And I REALLY do not trust the dealers.

 

that is just retarded. They would make you pay for them checking out a potential problem from a car that is under warranty? I have never been treated that way from my Honda dealer, and I will have them check out anything I feel is incorrect. And they do! No questions, except for the ones on describing the issue. For instance I have a mysterious rattle too at different times. When it happens you can hold the RPM's around 1.5 and hear what would sound like a ticking/rattling (almost like a blown rod) but goes away when you go above 1,700 RPM's. This is very annnoying as you can hear it outside of the car, but is very hard to diagnose because it comes and goes. They have looked at the car a couple times to try and duplicate this problem, but with no luck. The weirdest thing about this noise is if I open the hood and pull on the throttle cable for a second the sound goes away. I thought it was a tension pulley or something, but why would popping the hood make the sound go away. So anyway what I am trying to get at is they(Honda) has never once asked for any type of payment. Not one cent!

 

mellow...

I like your dealer better, and believe that is the way it should be. I had taken my car to the dealer after a hard ride one time. My clutch was slipping a little. Their reply was the usual...leave it here and we'll look at it. When I asked (to verify) that the clutch was covered in the warranty they told me yes, and any work that went with repairing/replacing it, but went on to say that a clean check was not covered by the warranty. They said they didn't want everyone and their brother coming in every week cuz they thought they heard a rattle somewhere. I haven't been back since.

As for your rattle...I might have some insight, but it is long winded... My car has a very distinct rattle at 1900 RPMS (this is separate from the one I was asking about above). If you hold it there you have a steady rattle, but above or below 1900...nothing. I looked into it pretty good and here is my conclusion. I work with electronics, radio waves, frequencies, etc for avionics equipment... helicopters mostly. One of the things I am always checking are vibration analysis test sets. I have to make sure these test sets read out with near exact precision for one very simple reason. When the helo's rotor spins, the whole helo vibrates. If those vibrations come at a certain harmonic frequency, the helo can literally break apart in the air, and fall. The test set makes sure that all the shaking in the helo does not approach that frequency. Same concept with my car...at a certain RPM the vibrations caused come at a certain harmonic frequency that move and shake things just right enough to cause a rattle somewhere... being that rattles don't tend to be good I simply avoid maintaining a steady 1900 RPM engine speed. This keeps whatever it is from rattling itself right out of place.