Service charging system
Thread Starter
Cruising
Joined: May 2023
Posts: 14
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From: California
Service charging system
My c6 hasn’t been starting properly this past week and keeps showing service charging system on the dash today I replaced the the alternator bc that’s what i figured was wrong but still pops up on the dash and battery is not charging I got it checked at auto zone and their scanner said it was the alternator not working even though it’s brand new ? Kinda lost and wondering what direction I should go from here on out I don’t really want to take the vette into the dealership if it’s something I can fix but I will if I cant find a solution any advice would help.
Race Director
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 11,813
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From: God's Country, ID
My c6 hasn’t been starting properly this past week and keeps showing service charging system on the dash today I replaced the the alternator bc that’s what i figured was wrong but still pops up on the dash and battery is not charging I got it checked at auto zone and their scanner said it was the alternator not working even though it’s brand new ? Kinda lost and wondering what direction I should go from here on out I don’t really want to take the vette into the dealership if it’s something I can fix but I will if I cant find a solution any advice would help.
Check your starter solenoid positive terminal connection.
The heat tends to crack around the terminal and it causes an intermittent short.
Moderator, Tech Contributor
Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 15,362
Likes: 3,943
From: Cape Coral, Florida
Did you check the battery charge rate AT the battery with a DVOM ??…if it’s 12 volts there but if you check it at the alternator B+ and it’s say 14.5 volts it’s the starter solenoid connection where both the battery B+ cable and the alternator B+ cable are both connected…the nut securing it may be loose or even missing if the car is intermittently starting…you’ll have to get underneath the car unfortunately to check…one of my jobs this weekend when I had my car up on the lift was to clean both of those terminal ends and I found the nut just a little loose but not enough to cause any starting issues but cleaning and tightening reduced my voltage drop by a half a volt when starting it up…remember to disconnect battery ground when working down there with a wrench or you’ll have a real “short” (short to ground) and a lot of sparks flying around !!…the term “short” is one of those electrical terms that is commonly misunderstood.
Thread Starter
Cruising
Joined: May 2023
Posts: 14
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From: California
do you think that’s normal if the car has only 65k miles ? Or that could happen at any time ? I have a jack and will try today to inspect the starter solenoid.
Thread Starter
Cruising
Joined: May 2023
Posts: 14
Likes: 0
From: California
Did you check the battery charge rate AT the battery with a DVOM ??…if it’s 12 volts there but if you check it at the alternator B+ and it’s say 14.5 volts it’s the starter solenoid connection where both the battery B+ cable and the alternator B+ cable are both connected…the nut securing it may be loose or even missing if the car is intermittently starting…you’ll have to get underneath the car unfortunately to check…one of my jobs this weekend when I had my car up on the lift was to clean both of those terminal ends and I found the nut just a little loose but not enough to cause any starting issues but cleaning and tightening reduced my voltage drop by a half a volt when starting it up…remember to disconnect battery ground when working down there with a wrench or you’ll have a real “short” (short to ground) and a lot of sparks flying around !!…the term “short” is one of those electrical terms that is commonly misunderstood.
