Hi everyone. I'm a newbie here to the forum. But thought this would be a good place to try to get some helpful information on my problem. I have a 1998 C5 which has been running like a champ until recently. I had the "Charge System Fault" error message come up. I took my car to my mechanic (electrical specialist) and he confirmed that I had a bad alternator. I had it replaced. We verified that the new alternator held a charge. Two hours after picking it up, the error message came back up and the battery strength gage began to show a slow but sure drain again. Am i missing something here? is there something "special" about a Vette alternator that my mechanic didn't know? We made sure it was a high performance alternator (pulling 110 amps), but the problem still exists with a new alternator. Do ineed to get a dealer part? I also had one of the mechanics there tell me that he thought there was a recall on the alternator by Chevrolet. Can anyone confirm this? My apologies for the length of the message. If anyone has any useful information on the subject, it would be greatly appreciated. You can reply here or reply to my personal e-mail Rene-Soliz@msn.com

Thanks

Rene

 

Sorry Rene, I've got a related problem but no answers. Maybe another electrical question will bring out the electrical guru's.

I got the car back Friday from having the engine rebuilt and tonight I noticed that when I put on the brakes the lights dim. I've had no problems until now and have driven the car about 150 miles, in short 10-20 trips, since I picked it up.

When I got back to the garage I turned the lights off and still the hood light and clock led's dimmed.

normally the alt puts out 14.3 volts but now, light on or off is putting out between 13.2 and 13.9 with an occasional blip to 14.0 or 12.6.

I'm hoping is just a low battery (car sat for 23 days) but it did not indicate any problems throught out the week-end.

I guess the serpentine belt could be loose but there is no screaming from it.

Any electrical experts out there that could help Rene and myself?

C5-Tech?



[Modified by Gary2KC5, 7:29 PM 10/29/2001]

 

Gary,

I appreciate the helpful aid in soliciting information. I'm taking the car back in tomorrow, but just hate to keep forking over money on diagnostics and troubleshooting if someone here may be able to lead me in the right direction. Thanks again. Good luck

Rene :cheers:

 

Weird, but you know, you could have received a new "bad one". I hope it all works out...

Let us know,

 

That thought did cross my mind Bparker. . . . I guess you never know. I'll be taking the car back in tomorrow and maybe get another replacement. I do hope it's somethign minor. . . we'll see

Rene [IMG][/IMG]

 

Okay. . so i can stop looking like a complete fool. . how do you post a photo on this thing???

Rene :nonod:

 

Geta image hosting account setup (like for auctions) OR get yourself some webspace for a website! :yesnod:

 

It was real frustrating for me until I got it right once. Go to the "Help & Feedback" section of the forum and go to the "testing section"

I was blown away when I went there. I would try to follow the instructions and suddenly there would be a reply post that said "here's what you're doing wrong try this" It was like big brother was watching...but a very helpful big brother.

BTW: the forum will set you up with a web site, check out the "Home Pages" tab at the top of the page!


[Modified by Gary2KC5, 9:44 PM 10/29/2001]

 

Unlikely that 2 alternators were bad. I'd look at the battery terminals.
If you still have the stock Delco battery installed, check for acid leaks or get rid of it right away. They will leak sooner or later and create more damage to the underlying PCM/cable harness.

Hope this helps.

Roger

 

Soliz34,

I received repeated "charge system fault" messages on the DIC of my 1999 C5 coupe.

The dealer "technician" called Chevrolet Technical Assistance and was told to check ground locations on and near the starter. He found loose connections that were also corroded. The studs were cleaned and the nuts tightened - no more messages.

Good luck.

1999 White C5 Coupe

 

Thnaks for the tips Roger. I'll have the shop do just that. Replacing the stock battery is not a bad idea.

Rene

 

1999 White C5 Now that sounds like a potential culprit right there. One question though. When you saw the error message, did you see the battery charge gage physically move indicating the battery was slowly draining or was it simply an electrical glitch with a faulty error message popping up? Most of my mechanic friends (and they all have opinions let me tell ya :-) Feel that it's a faulty voltage regulator. But the same problem on two alternators??? Highly unlikely. I'm going to tell my mechanic to check the starter ground terminations as well as the battery connections. The help is greatly appreciated fellas. I took the car back in today and wouldn't you know it. . i couldn't get the problem to reappear. it seems to be intermittent in nature. it only appears during the start up. never while I'm driving. i can turn the car on 3-6 times with no problem. . but the seventh time. . . error message and battery drain. But what I am going to do is get the original alternator rebuilt at a reputable shop and reinstalled. That and check the terminals and grounds around the starter. I'll let you know what happens. Thanks again.

Rene

 

I too recently had an alternator problem although it was one I brought upon myself.

I had Design Specialties paint and chrome an alternator for me, it looks very nice. After about 9 days I started to get Charge System Fault messages and the voltage meter was in the 15's with occassional bouncing to 12s and 16s.

I found out that the alternator is grounded to the bracket and that possibly the paint in the area of the bracket and bolts was causing a problem.

I sanded off the paint in these areas but this did not help. I then tightened all of the nuts holding the alternator together and torqued down the two bolts attaching alternator to bracket.

For the next 250 miles the alternator is acting normally. I am going to loosen some things back up to test to make sure that it was the tightening of things that really corrected the problem.

It could be that this will become an issue again in the future when I become confident that it is no longer a problem.

I would tighten everything up just to make sure all connections/interfaces are good.

Best of luck!

Chuck

 

Check the battery to frame ground lead, and the +12V posts on the starter. That is where the alternator output is tied to the battery. Tighten the large terminal nut. Disconnect the battery FIRST, so that you won't have a fireworks display when your metal wrench shorts the +12V nut to ground !

 

Chuck,

the added information is appreciated. i think it may be a combination of things. After reading all the advice on this forum, i decided to have the orignal alternator tested at an alternator rebuild shop. Turns out the original alternator was working fine (pulled a max 130 amps). I was a little disappointe din my mechanic after hearing this news. I guess some mechnaics don't have the equipment to test the alternator on it's own only the circuit??? Anyway, i had the original alternator put back in, I bought a new battery, and had them tighten all ground connections around the starter and the bolts on the alternator mount bracket. Right now the car is running fine. I guess I'll know for sure in a few days. Let me thank you guys again for the great help and advice. This site was recommended to me by a friend and I am pleasantly surprised and impressed at the member support. thanks again guys.

 

Ersatz. . .i will check those terminations as well. i'll keep you guys posted on the outcome.

 

Soliz34,

I did not watch the guage when I received the DIC messages. However, after the technician called Chevrolet Technical Assistance, he told me that it must be a common problem because the Technical Assistance person knew the solution immediately. The technician also stated that he thought it was a problem that was caused by improper tightening at the factory (I bought the car new).

Good luck.

1999 White C5 Coupe