Hi all
Went to go out in the car the other night (having not had any problems up to this point) and after starting the car I noticed all the lights both inside and outside pulsating with the engine speed so instantly thought the Alternator to be at fault, however within a few minuets of the car running on the drive I got some messages on the screen saying gearbox fault and Stability control fail so shut it down, I have just purchased a bluetooth OBD2 unit and TORQUE software for tablet and connected up to the car and it came up with the following fault numbers Current fault P1793-Powertrain and Pending fault P1111-Powertrain.
The voltage reading on the software showed 17.8V, Now what I am wondering is,
1, could over voltage cause the errors to show but the errors aren't actual problems bearing in mind the car drove lovely up to this point?
2, could the over voltage have blown an ECU component?
3, will replacing the Alt fix all the above?
4, I am guessing the voltage regulator is an intrigal component of the Alt?
Cheers
Mick from Norwich.

 

Over voltage, can cause problems with anything electrical in your car.

Get it fixed. Before driving car. Have battery tested, depending how long you have had this problem you might need new battery.

I do not know the were your Voltage Regulator is. Since I could not find listing on a voltage regulator for your car I would assume it is in the Alternator. Your repair shop will be able to tell you.

 

The faults you have are well known results for low battery voltage. That would imply they MIGHT also be thrown for high voltage, but I doubt it. Applying Occum's razor, I suspect you have a bad battery. A few minutes with a meter should tell you the story.

 

I would use a voltmeter and find out for sure what your voltage is. Reason being is because I have found discrepancies using different code readers with live data and they would display high voltage output such as yours only to turn out the actual system voltage to be a normal 14v to 14.3v. However, going by what you're saying though, it does sound like the regulator has full fielded.

 

BTW, a failing battery can show up as high voltage while the engine is running since the battery is a high impedance and does not put the right load on the alternator. Not to say your alternator is not the problem, it just needs a little more diagnostic work.