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Charging system fried up?

Old Jun 3, 2014 | 03:33 PM
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Default Charging system fried up?

The title should read fried but autocorrect sucks!!!! On the road & mobile so no manual with me. Got a battery light on the way to work & a "Battery Saver Active" message on the DIC. Of course, most likely a battery or alternator but what exactly does the Battery Saver function do? I probably should disable the driving lights until I make the ten mile trip home to help the cause.
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Old Jun 3, 2014 | 03:38 PM
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The battery saver function cuts off non-essential electrical items in order to conserve energy for essential functions when your battery is low. Could be a battery or the charging system. My bet is the battery.
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Old Jun 3, 2014 | 03:54 PM
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Just fired it up on lunch and battery light is staying off even with the ac & lights on right now. I'll tear it apart when I get home and load test it, check connections and test the alternator. Things have been too good to be true since I bought it last month!

Thanks for the info on the battery saver function!
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Old Jun 3, 2014 | 05:07 PM
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I changed the title to fried...
I hope it is just the battery Stephen. Look forward to hear you assessment update.
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Old Jun 4, 2014 | 12:58 AM
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Darn thing worked all the way home after a really long day when my old butt needed the A/C on high. My driving lights look rather dim but everything shows over 13V with a tester. I was too tired to pull the rear seat this evening so hopefully it lasts until I get a day off. I was deciding whether to order a custom 160A alternator already to drive the amps but they want $299 for the darn thing - twice as much as the one for the GP cost. Must be really special.....
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Old Jun 4, 2014 | 03:57 AM
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How many CCA battery is in the Bonneville SSEi ? Ya load test it...
If you have a battery with removable caps, check the water level and if you have a battery tester/hydrometer, see how each cell state of charge (specific gravity) is doing.
It may need a good charge to bring it back up. I tend to manually charge once in a while, as it is cheaper than long hwy runs in fuel to charge them up. City short driving trips really does not charge a battery much.
Is your ALt a 125 amp or 105 in there?
I have a custom 160 from Quality power, it tested out at 155 amp at 1800 rpm.
The problem still remains that these alts only really produce good amps above 800 rpm and idle on the Pk Ave is 600.
Not enough juice at idle stopped with air/lights etc on. Solution a smaller diameter pulley & new belt will help on any Alt.
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Last edited by Soft Ride; Jun 4, 2014 at 04:04 AM.
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Old Jun 4, 2014 | 10:50 AM
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Could be a bad connection somewhere or intermittent alternator...

Checked for codes?

Check battery cable connections?
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