Is my computer controlled charging system bad?

Asked by Cody Mar 21, 2017 at 09:16 PM about the 2007 Chevrolet Malibu LS FWD

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

I have an 07 malibu ls 3.5 v6. About a year and 6 months ago i was driving
and my tc light came on. shortly there after my abs light and display say
service power steering and my wheel got stiff. i pulled over and shut the car
off and check my batt cable and the were fine. i go to leave and it wont
start and barley crank at that. i got a tow and went home and pulled the alt
to be tested at autozone. they said it was fine. not knowing what to do i
went to a shop and got charged $600 to have my alt replaced. car ran fine.
fast forward to last week. my wife goes to leave work and it wont start. a
batt and a starter later im good till today. the same dash lights came on as
before with no power steering and the addition of the batt light. other forum
threads that i read today say its the computer controlled charging system?
is there a way i can check this and how do i repair it?

3 Answers
220,915

Rowefast answered 7 years ago

What you check is with the engine running, check with a digital multi meter at the battery, it should show around 14.5 DCV if the charging system is working properly. Also rev the engine up to see if the voltage changes. It should not go over 14.7 DCV.

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Cody answered 7 years ago

With the car running it was at about 13.4. We revd the rpm and it actually dropped to about 13.3. What does this mean?

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220,915

Rowefast answered 7 years ago

The alternator is not putting out enough voltage, should not be any lower than 14 volts. A new rebuilt alternator should be putting out 14.5 to 14.7 DCV. I'm not sure if it is because of the voltage regulator on the alternator, or if the computer has anything to do with it. My opinion is that it is still in the alternator voltage regulator. I would have the alternator tested at a couple of different places. Some parts stores have better testing equipment than others.

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