Changed alternator "Check Charging System"

tristangoesham

tristangoesham

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I changed my alternator today with some help (not an easy job) and after it was changed I got a "Check Charging System" (or something very close to that can't remember) error and the battery light came on. Also the power steering was not working. I'm thinking we didn't crank the belt down tight enough on the alternator. Any thoughts?
 
There's no "cranking" the belt down. There is a an auto tensioner, with no adjustment.
Did you run the belt correctly? Can you see the belt on there and is it moving when the engine is running?
Did you use an OEM alternator?
What was the issue before replacing the alternator?
 
joegr said:
There's no "cranking" the belt down. There is a an auto tensioner, with no adjustment.
Did you run the belt correctly? Can you see the belt on there and is it moving when the engine is running?
Did you use an OEM alternator?
What was the issue before replacing the alternator?
Click to expand...

It's not an OEM alternator. The car wouldn't hold a charge, battery seems to be fine. I googled the problem and it all seemed to point to the alternator. The belt seems to be on correctly, but I'm not with my car right now.
 
You said in your prior post "the car wouldn't hold a charge." Not sure how this means "it ran fine." You need an OEM alternator, there have literally been dozens of threads and stories of people utilizing non-OEM alternators and failing. Sometimes you can find rebuilt OEM alternators on ebay/craigslist.
 
It was running fine for 2.5 years (had the car that long) then it seemed the alternator died. I had to jump the car to get it to start every time. If I charged the battery and checked the voltage it seemed fine. I read several stories online all saying it was the alternator.
 
I agree with the others about the OEM alternator. It seems that rarely does anyone get an aftermarket alternator to work well and long. I would note that my OEM alternators have gone 150K/9 years and 100K/7 years so far.

Anyway, apart from all that, there should be no link between the alternator failure and the power steering failure except for the accessory belt drive. (The amount of steering boost is electronically controlled, but even with that completely failed you should have some boost.)

Edit: I do suspect that you have a better chance of getting a working non-OEM alternator for the Gen II than the Gen I. At least the gen II uses a "normal" alternator control scheme.
 
tristangoesham said:
It was running fine for 2.5 years (had the car that long) then it seemed the alternator died. I had to jump the car to get it to start every time. If I charged the battery and checked the voltage it seemed fine. I read several stories online all saying it was the alternator.
Click to expand...
was (is) the battery holding a charge (for an extended period of time)??? a failing alt can destroy a battery.
 
tristangoesham said:
The car wouldn't hold a charge, battery seems to be fine.
Click to expand...

this makes no sense, the car doesn't hold a charge, the battery does, if the battery does not hold a charge then it is far from fine.

you have a lot more testing to do, you should probably fine out if the battery is actually any good on not by taking it somewhere and having it tested, chances are that if it was does a bunch and you had to just it multiple times, then the battery is probably no longer good (draining a battery dead does damage to the battery).

then i would find out if the battery is actually not being charged or if it is charging fine but something is draining it while it sits.


your aftermarket alt (the one you just removed) obviously was not running fine, because you should not have to replace the alt after only 2.5 years. with your car only being 7 years old and with only 138K, you definetly should not be on your third alt, something in your car is killing them








also even if the battery was in great condition, a failing alt with destroy a good battery very quickly if not fixed immediately...
 
It was the alternator. The belt came off on the first time I started it but it was really dark so we couldn't see it. Belt is back on, seems to be running fine.
 
G-RELL said:
was (is) the battery holding a charge (for an extended period of time)??? a failing alt can destroy a battery.
Click to expand...

I think my battery is damaged or dying now from the failing alternator. I checked the voltage and it's only showing 10.7 volts and sometimes the alarm goes off when I start it. Also it takes a long time for the engine to turn over. Any ideas on what this could be?
 
tristangoesham said:
I think my battery is damaged or dying now from the failing alternator. I checked the voltage and it's only showing 10.7 volts and sometimes the alarm goes off when I start it. Also it takes a long time for the engine to turn over. Any ideas on what this could be?
Click to expand...

Check the battery voltage while the engine is running. If it is less than 13, your alternator isn't really working. If it is over 13, but less than 14, it's still not doing too well. If it is over 15, then you would also have serious problems.

Your battery probably is damaged, but I'm betting on alternator.
 
joegr said:
Check the battery voltage while the engine is running. If it is less than 13, your alternator isn't really working. If it is over 13, but less than 14, it's still not doing too well. If it is over 15, then you would also have serious problems.

Your battery probably is damaged, but I'm betting on alternator.
Click to expand...

So what's the number I'm looking for? 14?
 
Just tested. 10.2 volts when the car was off, 14.4 while running. I think my battery is damaged.
 
tristangoesham said:
Just tested. 10.2 volts when the car was off, 14.4 while running. I think my battery is damaged.
Click to expand...

Apparently so. Most auto parts stores will load test the battery for free. Note that you want to get the correct battery (one with the single vent tube connection. And you do want to connect that vent. Even if you don't care about the possibility of being incinerated in your car, surely you do care about having all the wiring and electronics in the trunk corroded by the gases from the battery.

You may also want to charge the battery fully up and then disconnect it for a day. If it holds a charge while disconnected, but not while connected, you may have a parasitic load killing it.
 
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