yea your right....but the whining noise was more like a "HUM" which now that i thought of it (earlier today) made me realiize it was the alternator....it was a low hum and would go up with acceleration and go down when letting off the gas.....i didn't see any CEL lights i guess cuz the alternator was still working but on the verge of dying it was producing enough power but not enough to charge the battery to it appropriate voltage to start the car......when i was at Sears the guy told me that it working but its producing irregular waves and that its malfunctioning and i should replace it soon, he told me i'll be lucky to get home (25 min drive) i made sure i left my radio, lights, and a/c off....but after replacing it, everything is back to normal