another charge system fault

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Jul 14, 2009 | 01:47 AM

c5mtl

Thread Starter

Drifting

Joined: Feb 2005

Posts: 1,869

Likes: 61

From: montreal quebec

another charge system fault

looking for some advice....once in a while after being stuck in stop and go traffic i would get a charge system fault ....cleared it and it didnt come back....checked for codes and have none....so i check most of the grounds up front and they are clean ...then i decided to do the big 3 upgrade...meaning new + wire from the alternator to the batt.....new ground from the alternator front bolt to the frame and another ground from the batt to the frame also....after the upgrade i noticed about 1/2 volt jump in normal driving now i see as high as 14.2 volts when before i never got that above 13.7 (great upgrade)...but still after 1/2 hour in stop and go traffic i again got the charge fault warning...volts came down to mid to low 12's.....battery is always on a tender and is only a year old....could heat from the headers be causing the problems with the fusable links ....also checked them and the bolt on the starter looks clean and i cleaned it up even more before reinstalling the wires??How about the alternator.... ??? Does somebody have a temp gun...what is the operating temp of the alternator...i know they get hot but how hot is to hot??

thanks

Jul 14, 2009 | 09:46 PM

c5mtl

Thread Starter

Drifting

Joined: Feb 2005

Posts: 1,869

Likes: 61

From: montreal quebec

help

Jul 14, 2009 | 09:58 PM

mikem350

Melting Slicks

Joined: Feb 2006

Posts: 3,105

Likes: 96

From: Sunrise FL

Wiring should not cause a problem with higher temps, look for something electronic. If volts drop to low 12's it means alt is not putting out. OR....how about dumping some water on it when its hot? shut the engine first

Also check the wires to the alternator plug, pull it out, squirt some WD40 in it, check for corrosion inside

Jul 14, 2009 | 10:50 PM

dgrant3830

Tech Contributor

Joined: Dec 2006

Posts: 10,962

Likes: 29

From: Van Buren Arkansas

Wounded Warrior Escort '11

I'm having this issue on my '07 right now too. I replaced the battery right off because when this happened to my '99, it was just before the positive battery post fell off. On the '07, that wasn't the case. I replaced the alternator with a rebuilt with no change. Today, I put in a brand new GM alternator and it was behaving better but still saw it drop low for a short bit on the freeway coming to work this afternoon. So, I'm not done yet. On the C-5's, a good place to look is the starter battery cable as this is where the car gets its power at that junction. I'm guessing its the same on the C-6, but frankly I can't get to it. The starter on this one is totally blocked by the cat. Somehow, I'm going to have to remove it in order access.