CHARGE SYSTEM FAULT - Page 5

Z06 Rocket · 05-19-2006, 09:42 AM

Rich, here's a link to another thread posted on CF. I haven't read it,(just saw the title), but I thought it might help you anyway.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1395866

**Rich Z** · 05-19-2006, 08:39 PM

Thanks for the link. But actually I'm not getting any errors displayed any longer, at least not since the vette tech at Champion tightened down that ground. Oh and excluding rear 02 and cat errors from the headers, of course.

Surprise, surprise! My alternator came in today! I wasn't expecting it until Monday. I might be able to put that on as well as that Shaner throttle body this weekend. The alternator looks good. I was surprised at how heavy it is. Or maybe I just don't remember from my younger years (or am just getting older and it only FEELS heavier).........

Hopefully I won't fix one problem and create three more.......

Mark Dalton · 05-19-2006, 09:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rich Z

Well, just got back from Champion Chevrolet. The vette tech there (Shane) was all embarrassed to tell me that he had neglected to tighten down a ground screw for the alternator and that was most certainly causing my problems. I was just glad it wasn't something serious, so he had no need to be so apologetic about it. Sure beats paying for a new alternator!

But on the way home, I was eyeballing the voltmeter and saw that it was creeping down below 12 volts again. I pulled into the driveway and just sat there with the A/C running and put on the headlights to see what would happen. The voltage dropped down to 11.2 volts. I just revved up the engine a little bit, and could actually hear the alternator click in, and the volts started climbing back up to the normal 13.5 volts.

So has anyone actually paid attention to this meter? Does the voltage fluctuate like this normally? Honestly I NEVER paid attention to this meter before, so I don't have any idea if this is something that has ALWAYS been happening, and I just never noticed it. I guess it's kind of like your temperature gauge. It will go up and down while driving in traffic on a hot day, but heck, I don't really watch that one either.

I check my gages after I crank up the car every day, especially alt. volts and oil pressure, to make sure everything is OK before I take off. My volts are always at about 14.7 and have been since I got my Z. It sounds like you've still got a problem Rich.

**Rich Z** · 05-19-2006, 10:02 PM

Well, I'm shooting one suspect after another, so eventually I will get that bugger. Probably putting the alternator on tomorrow. Champion Chevrolet has a new ignition switch on order, so that will likely get taken care of next week sometime. The problem is that it is intermittent so it's going to be a problem to nail down. Basically I have to try something and if it doesn't come back in a few months, then I will believe it is fixed. I used to repair computers in my younger days, and intermittent problems were always the worst. Give me a solid failure any day to diagnose.......

**Rich Z** · 05-20-2006, 08:24 PM

Well, I got to put in the new alternator today. Also put in the Shaner S3 throttle body and a TB bypass kit. About the only snag was with the Shaner TB, it doesn't come with the two side mechanisms. So I had to swap these from the old one. The snag part was I have all kinds of tool bit kits, but NOT anything that would work on those screws holding those mechanisms in place. Aw man....... I thought it was going to mean a trip to Sears, and knock out an hour or so out of my day. But on a hunch (and a prayer) I just went to the local Advance Auto store to see if they had what I needed. Well hot damn! Yeah they did. The bits are called "Tamper Proof Star Bit Set". And that did the trick. I thought for sure Murphy's Law was going to smack me a good one today with my not being able to find the bit I needed ANYWHERE. It got close to another snag when I found out that my socket set (don't ask me why) didn't have a 15mm and 16mm socket. And of course, the bolt on the font of the serpentine belt tensioner requires a 15mm socket. Fortunately I had one from ages gone by sitting in the workroom that I was fortunate to find. I was surprised that the tensioner was just spring loaded. I didn't know what to expect when I put the wrench to that bolt. But pretty easy to do. I just needed my wife to help me so I could slide the belt off of the alternator pully and keep it from unravelling from all the other pulleys. But beyond that, piece of cake.....

Anyway, everything went pretty smoothly. I may have to reroute the bypass hose, because it is under the throttle body and just a wee bit close to pulley below the TB (I think for the water pump?) and I don't want it rubbing some time down the road.

Battery voltage pretty much stayed right at 13.4 volts, but it did drop down to 13.0 when I started up after getting gasoline on the way home.

As for performance from the Shaner TB, well yeah, I can feel a definite seat of the pants difference. Hard to describe, but the go pedal seems much more responsive. No lag between the push of the foot and the feel of acceleration. Which is what I have heard from people before about a ported and polished TB. As for the TB bypass, heck I doubt it makes much of a difference, but since I'm here in Florida, and a heated TB isn't really necessary anyway, I felt I might as well do it while the TB is off.

So a fun couple of hours playing auto mechanic today. Not that I want to make a career out of it, but it's fun getting a little intimate with the Z every once in a while.....

No telling if the alternator fixed my original problem yet, but I am still planning on getting the ignition switch replaced next week, regardless.

**Rich Z** · 05-26-2006, 06:08 PM

Well took my Z into the chevy dealership today and got both bad news and good news. The bad news was that the parts department there ordered the incorrect ignition switch.

So that didn't get changed out. But the good news is that they found that a connector was loose (bolt or nut?) or corroded (not sure which), on the starter and that was most likely the cause of the starting problems. On the way home, the voltage gauge stayed right around 13.1 to 13.7 volts and didn't exhibit the wide swings I have been seeing previously. For instance, on the way to the shop, the voltage was reading 11.2 volts. Of course, it's much too early to think this was the gremlin haunting the car lately, but I can be hopefully optimistic about it.

But I'll know more in another week or two when time enough has passed for an intermittency to rear it's ugly head again.

I CERTAINLY would like to be able to put this one behind me.........

MADN3SS · 05-26-2006, 10:01 PM

Hope that takes care of everything for you Rich.

MKRUPKA · 06-05-2006, 09:15 AM

MY 2001 COUPE HAD IT AS WELL . WE CHECKED FOR CODES BUT COULD NEVER PULL ONE . WE REPLACED THE BATTERY AND BELTS AND CLEANED ALL THE TERMINALS BUT IT STILL CAME BACK. ONE TIME I NOTICED THAT THE STARTER WAS NOT DISENGAGING PROPERLY WHEN CHARGE SYSTEM FAULT APPEARED. WE REPLACED THE STARTER AND IT HAS NOT HAPPENED AGAIN. GOOD LUCK!!! MICHAEL

**Rich Z** · 06-05-2006, 12:20 PM

Well, so far, so good. The battery voltage has not wavered since that starter connector problem was fixed. But I guess I will be keeping it at the forefront of my attention for quite a while longer, just in case.

Yellow · 06-05-2006, 03:10 PM

As I stated...
With my Vette..this issue can be daily...or weekly...
But sometimes it can be gone for months...
Again this has been happening since 3,000 miles and now I am almost at 50,000 miles...
Hope you find your issue.