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Smart alternator fault

13K views 27 replies 11 participants last post by  PURPLE_2L_LX  
#1 ·
Hi. I am looking for some help. I have had this fault code come up and wondered where to start. Any help would be much appreciated. Tia

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#2 ·
Do i just need to put a new alternator on or is this something else? Car is fine for 2 or 3 minutes. Then the battery light comes on. If i turn engine off and restart it goes out but then comes back on after 2 or 3 mins again. Car is a 62 plate 2.0 tdci titx. Hope somebody can help. Tia
 
#4 ·
What happens to the output voltage when you bring the engine rpm up?

What does the battery measure without the engine running - and again, after standing idle for a couple of hours?

Any recent changes to hardware, or servicing, etc?

Sent from my D6603 using Tapatalk
 
#5 ·
I will check tomorrow. I had the car running and took the terminal off the battery and car hesitated and nearly cut out then the revs went up and it stayed running. Put terminal back on. Put meter on it again and was reading 13.75v. Left it running for 5 mins then the battery light came back on.
 
#7 ·
I dont have the tools to do that test. I am now assuming that its a broken signal wire. As when i unplug the signal wire and run the car it does the same thing. Does anybody know which pin and which plug on the ecu this wire goes to as i would like to check to see if its broken without stripping the whole loom apart to trace it back. Tia
 
#9 ·
I have changed the alternator today for 1 off of another car. All i am getting is 12.3v rgardless of signal wire. I am getting extremely stressed out with it now. I have traced the signal wire back to ecu and it is not damaged. Put a meter on it at alternator end and ecu end and i am getting no resistance. So that cable is fine. I just cant work out what is going on. Yesterday i took terminal off the battery while car was running and it stayed running. Today i did the same thing after changing alternator and it cut out straight away. Any ideas. Should i swap alternators back round? As at least yesterday it was throwing out 13.75 volts.
 
#20 ·
After changing alternator. Running a new sensor wire and still having the fault. It turned out to be a bad earth. 8 or so hours wasted. Took 5 mins to clean the earth strap from body to gearbox. Fault cleared and light off. Bloody new technology is such a pain. Just glad its sorted. I was at my wits end.
 
#21 ·
There is a single white wire coming of the battery housing joined and clipped on the bulk head. Unplug it and run car, this will stop your battery light coming on. I,m unsure myself as to wether this is the signal feed to the battery smart module or if it is just the battery light feed. Either way it means there is an issue but my 2011 4.5 2.0 tdci tx runs fine with it unplugged. Strangely, New battery and alternator. Battery is showing 12.04v static. Alternator on cold start is showing only 11.7 output. Q.what is the white box that is fastened to the ground terminal on the battery. Red wire from the + goes to it and the white wire which I have unplugged goes to it also. I suspect it is to do with the smart charge.
 
#22 ·
After changing alternator. Running a new sensor wire and still having the fault. It turned out to be a bad earth. 8 or so hours wasted. Took 5 mins to clean the earth strap from body to gearbox. Fault cleared and light off. Bloody new technology is such a pain. Just glad its sorted. I was at my wits end.
Where abouts is the earth strap from the body to the gearbox?
 
#23 ·
I've got a similar problem, Intermittent battery warning light on the dash :( I get a consistent 13.8v when the warning light is on and 14.4v (I believe) when the warning light is off so I think there is a bad wire or short somewhere.

The alternator checks out as far as I can tell (Multimeter testing only) and the battery works excellent (Had it in another car) with no problems.

After some searching for a solution I found a similar video on Youtube which lead me to talkford.

I haven't had chance to look for the earth strap myself yet but I suspect it could possibly be the cause of the problem, Or at least I'm hoping so :D As It's a fairly simple fix!

The question I have is, Before I start, Where are the problem wires that I should be checking for?
 
#24 ·
I've got a similar problem, Intermittent battery warning light on the dash :( I get a consistent 13.8v when the warning light is on and 14.4v (I believe) when the warning light is off so I think there is a bad wire or short somewhere.

The alternator checks out as far as I can tell (Multimeter testing only) and the battery works excellent (Had it in another car) with no problems.

After some searching for a solution I found a similar video on Youtube which lead me to talkford.

I haven't had chance to look for the earth strap myself yet but I suspect it could possibly be the cause of the problem, Or at least I'm hoping so :D As It's a fairly simple fix!

The question I have is, Before I start, Where are the problem wires that I should be checking for?
Same issue here, two years ago battery light started coming on intermittently. Garage replaced alternator and battery, was ok for about a month, then battery light started to come back on. Ignored it till two weeks ago, battery light on permanently, then card wouldn't start. Charged battery up myself, its OK for a few days, then wont start. So looks like battery is not being charged.
 
#25 ·
#26 ·
I had the same fault code . First I cleaned the earth strap, but it didn't solved problem. Then I bought an alternator data wire repair kit (Elparts 51277370). It has plug and 0,5m of wire. To do the fix, you need to unplug AC clutch and oilpan sensor from underneath the car. So far it looks that this repair works. No more battery fault light for a month now.
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