reversed polarity, alternator not charging
#21
maybe someone has had the same issue and had a resolution.the forum is about sharing info and experience. thats why i keep bumping so someone might see. i have no expectations.
i dont mean to be harsh but u offer neither. basically i need a scanner to progress. if time wasnt the issue the manual outlines trouble shooting which is what a tech will reference.
even my girlfriend can suggest to take it in to a shop.
my guess is ecm, bcm, battery current sensor. they all communicate with each other and the ecm tells the alternator to fire up. this post is to help the next guy looking for an answer. telling someone to take it to a shop is their decision and not the reason a forum exists
i dont mean to be harsh but u offer neither. basically i need a scanner to progress. if time wasnt the issue the manual outlines trouble shooting which is what a tech will reference.
even my girlfriend can suggest to take it in to a shop.
my guess is ecm, bcm, battery current sensor. they all communicate with each other and the ecm tells the alternator to fire up. this post is to help the next guy looking for an answer. telling someone to take it to a shop is their decision and not the reason a forum exists
#22
no voltage at the back of the alt when car is off. alt puts out 6volts when car is running.
the ecm has 2 wires one monitors duty cycle. the other turns on the alt load. guessing the ecm driver for the turn on alternator is not functioning.
what would cause the positive from the battery to alternator to have no reading. they meet at the starter
the ecm has 2 wires one monitors duty cycle. the other turns on the alt load. guessing the ecm driver for the turn on alternator is not functioning.
what would cause the positive from the battery to alternator to have no reading. they meet at the starter
#23
I looked at the repair manual and don't see a fusible link listed between the starter and alternator(generator).
This splice is listed:
J111
On front of engine, from starter to generator,
approximately 15 cm from starter.
The repair diagram shows positve wire(red) from battery to starter to alternator. Doesn't show a fusible link.
This splice is listed:
J111
On front of engine, from starter to generator,
approximately 15 cm from starter.
The repair diagram shows positve wire(red) from battery to starter to alternator. Doesn't show a fusible link.
#24
I seen that in the diagram also. Just figured its wouldn't hurt to be looking for a fuse link that may not show in the wiring diagram when your tracing back the battery cable from the alt. to the starter.
#25
"I don't mean to be harsh", but..... a shop would have been able to tell + from - in the first place. And responsible for fixing it if they couldn't.
Sorry, I had to point that out. Don't get all offended. I am not trying to be mean.
Sorry, I had to point that out. Don't get all offended. I am not trying to be mean.
#26
my guess is ecm, bcm, battery current sensor. they all communicate with each other and the ecm tells the alternator to fire up. this post is to help the next guy looking for an answer. telling someone to take it to a shop is their decision and not the reason a forum exists
#27
resolved. the last 2 suggestions were correct. i did not see a fuseable link. did notice J111 but they call it a splice. the harness near the starter has a fuseable link which is not shown in the manual which the dealership found and replaced.
i had checked voltage at the alternator=0 at orange wire starter=0 at red wire coming off the distribution panel to starter and got 12v , both tests done car running and off.
the wire going to the starter got fried and would not allow battery current to complete the circuit. i actually found this wire and saw it was beat up , but it did not stand out as a cause. the tech had to open up the harness to track down the offending wire.
thanks to all those that offered constructive help. in future posts if ur advice is to go to the shop, save it. there is no cost to reading and learning. going to a shop is always my last option. i dont mind looking into things and see if i can get satisfaction with a self fix. i could have done the repair myself if i was willing to rip open the harness but chose to call it a day after trouble shooting for a few hours, instead of watching TV.
does this look like it would cause my headache. tech said this wire is designed to give out if things get too hot.
with the help of the manual and some guidance from the posts i replaced the alternator a few years early and spent nothing else other than hitting the dealer when i ran out of options. now i can make it to xmas dinner.
on a side note, the HHR will run on battery alone. with a good battery and radio off i was getting 30-40 mins of driving before the car quits once voltage drops below 10volts. every time i got stuck in traffic i would get freaked out knowing time was ticking and would be counting down the minutes, what a way to live for a few days.
i had checked voltage at the alternator=0 at orange wire starter=0 at red wire coming off the distribution panel to starter and got 12v , both tests done car running and off.
the wire going to the starter got fried and would not allow battery current to complete the circuit. i actually found this wire and saw it was beat up , but it did not stand out as a cause. the tech had to open up the harness to track down the offending wire.
thanks to all those that offered constructive help. in future posts if ur advice is to go to the shop, save it. there is no cost to reading and learning. going to a shop is always my last option. i dont mind looking into things and see if i can get satisfaction with a self fix. i could have done the repair myself if i was willing to rip open the harness but chose to call it a day after trouble shooting for a few hours, instead of watching TV.
does this look like it would cause my headache. tech said this wire is designed to give out if things get too hot.
with the help of the manual and some guidance from the posts i replaced the alternator a few years early and spent nothing else other than hitting the dealer when i ran out of options. now i can make it to xmas dinner.
on a side note, the HHR will run on battery alone. with a good battery and radio off i was getting 30-40 mins of driving before the car quits once voltage drops below 10volts. every time i got stuck in traffic i would get freaked out knowing time was ticking and would be counting down the minutes, what a way to live for a few days.
#28
And if you had taken it to the shop as suggested at the start (which you had to do in the end), you would have saved the price of the new alternator (not "generator" by the way), and the freakout time running on battery alone.
But I'm glad it is back on the road again.
But I'm glad it is back on the road again.
#29
Glad to hear you're up and running again.
Well GM calling a fuseable link a "splice" isn't a surprise, there have always been two ways to do things, the normal way and the "General's" way.
Please don't take advice to go to a mechanic as mean spirited, or as criticism, but there are times when you have to call on the experience of people who work on these critters day in and day out.
Now we've only had automobiles since 1886, so you would think that somewhere along the line a lightbulb would have gone off in an engineer's mind...."hey, let's make the positive and negative battery terminals impossible to hook up backwards". But its only been 127 years, so maybe someday.
Have a Merry Christmas cannuck!
Well GM calling a fuseable link a "splice" isn't a surprise, there have always been two ways to do things, the normal way and the "General's" way.
Please don't take advice to go to a mechanic as mean spirited, or as criticism, but there are times when you have to call on the experience of people who work on these critters day in and day out.
Now we've only had automobiles since 1886, so you would think that somewhere along the line a lightbulb would have gone off in an engineer's mind...."hey, let's make the positive and negative battery terminals impossible to hook up backwards". But its only been 127 years, so maybe someday.
Have a Merry Christmas cannuck!
#30
That is a very interesting discovery.
To my knowledge, you are about the 6th person, with a recent GM product, that has discovered that problem.....although none admitted to have a reverse polarity issue.
HHR's = 2
GMC =1
Chev trk =2
Corvette =2
I'll need to keep this in my "mind" bank when someone encounters a problem similar to yours.
What is also interesting, all of these people (except this forum member) had the vehicle to a dealer who couldn't find the problem after replacing several parts. ALL the owners found the actual problem.
My hat is tipped to you, cannuck.
To my knowledge, you are about the 6th person, with a recent GM product, that has discovered that problem.....although none admitted to have a reverse polarity issue.
HHR's = 2
GMC =1
Chev trk =2
Corvette =2
I'll need to keep this in my "mind" bank when someone encounters a problem similar to yours.
What is also interesting, all of these people (except this forum member) had the vehicle to a dealer who couldn't find the problem after replacing several parts. ALL the owners found the actual problem.
My hat is tipped to you, cannuck.