Help! 18+ volts due to alternator control wire coming off
12-28-2018, 03:35 PM
#1
Help! 18+ volts due to alternator control wire coming off So, I have a Mechman 270A alternator, and when I cranked ths car this morning, I noticed the voltage all of the way in the red. The car was on for less than 10 seconds before I noticed it. Open the hood, and the voltage regulator control/remote-on/power wire came out of the crimp. Fixed it, and noticed that the power antenna doesn't work now.
So, what else could have been zapped? O2 sensors, knock sensors, etc?
I got no SES light, radio works fine, windows, mirrors, headlight motors, are all fine. Horn doesn't work, but that could be old.
So, what else could have been zapped? O2 sensors, knock sensors, etc?
I got no SES light, radio works fine, windows, mirrors, headlight motors, are all fine. Horn doesn't work, but that could be old.
01-04-2019, 07:33 AM
#4
Most non-electronic (i.e. not solid state) devices will survive an over-voltage condition like that without any damage - over-current is the destroyer for those devices. The power antenna motor shouldn't have been affected although it may have gone up 50% faster. The fact that it's not working could indicate damage to the head unit. It's easy to check - just apply power to the antenna control wire (pink in the factory harness, blue in an aftermarket harness) and see if the antenna goes up. If so, the head unit isn't activating power to that wire. You can substitute a different power source if that's the only thing not working (rather than replacing the HU). The remote amp wire on an aftermarket head unit (blue/white wire) or even a simple ignition switched source can be used. If the antenna doesn't go up even when using a different power source on the control wire then you may have a problem with the antenna but check the orange wire at the antenna for power first before replacing.
It's hard to say if any sensors may have been affected but I suspect they are fine unless you are getting codes. For the most part, sensors work with varying voltage as part of their function so an over-voltage condition would just make them read incorrectly until the condition was corrected.
It's hard to say if any sensors may have been affected but I suspect they are fine unless you are getting codes. For the most part, sensors work with varying voltage as part of their function so an over-voltage condition would just make them read incorrectly until the condition was corrected.
