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Hello, was hoping for some hints of where to look. I have a 2006 C6 w the 6.0 ls2. Just yesterday noticed that there was a strange smell coming only when the climate control was off. Come home home and the car is giving “service charging system” and “low voltage” coming from DIC, accompanied with light smoke from engine. Looked around for leaks and checked that the AC unit was working and they all worked fine. Alternator and battery were replaced ‘22. Im guessing that it’s the power steering unit due to the fluid being low. Any suggestions or help would be nice.
My best guess is that the replacement alternator has blown a diode or two. If it is a reman unit, they have that reputation. That would account for the smoke and low voltage and the DIC message. The low power steering fluid should be topped up and investigated for leakage. Check that the serpentine belt hasn’t been sprayed with fluid causing it to slip. Could also be a cause of your symptoms.
If the smell is electrical - then your alternator has taken a crap - when mine went out smoke was pouring from under the hood and had that burnt electrical insulation smell.
As far as the PS pump, I know that the high pressure line on my LS2 had to be replaced and is a known issue. It was hard to find at first, had to put it on jack stands and with the engine running get underneath and have someone in the car - it only sprayed went the wheel was full left/right and the PS pump was on relief. The actual pin hole leak was behind the insulation that was wrapped on the OEM line. There is a redesigned hose by GM because it is a known issue.
Good Luck, Hoping it is something easy like the alternator which depending where you bought your replacement, might have a lifetime warranty if from one of the major auto parts store......
Hello, was hoping for some hints of where to look. I have a 2006 C6 w the 6.0 ls2. Just yesterday noticed that there was a strange smell coming only when the climate control was off. Come home home and the car is giving “service charging system” and “low voltage” coming from DIC, accompanied with light smoke from engine. Looked around for leaks and checked that the AC unit was working and they all worked fine. Alternator and battery were replaced ‘22. Im guessing that it’s the power steering unit due to the fluid being low. Any suggestions or help would be nice.
As with any mystery problems, best to start by checking for error codes. If you don't have access to an OBD code reader, any big box auto store will do it for no cost. As FatsWaller posted, definitely have the replacement alternator checked....it could have failed even if relatively new. When you read the codes, P0562 will indicate a failed alternator.
Had a friend that was having charging issues with his 07. A shop diagnosed a bad alternator and battery. They replaced and still had the issue. When I go to looking at the car, the fusible link at the starter had failed. After replacing still had charging issues. After some additional troubleshooting determined that the replacement alternator was bad (don't know if the shop damaged it while testing with the bad fusible link). After replacing that all charging issues were resolved.
You will want to measure the resistance with a good DMM from the positive battery cable to the terminal on the alternator. It should be near zero ohms. Also measure the voltage across the battery and from the terminal on the alternator to ground. Both measurements should be within tenths of a volt of each other.
Get an OEM alternator, the parts store rebuilt ones are hit and miss. Went to different places and the one each had was bad, had them test before purchasing.