VZ sv6 alternator problem, Lost all charge while driving

[exellerant]

hey guys,

so yesterday i had a random check alternator warning come up on the screen. after doing some research here i followed the diagnostics screen and found the voltage at the time to be around 14v. think i hovered around 13.7-13.9 with lights stereo on.

driving home from work this morning, lights and stereo on, i got the check warning again, followed by my ABS faulting out and airbags faulting out, shortly followed by me losing all my dash power (speedo, fuel etc) then the car died, tried to restart but got the dreaded click click click.

ive been reading on here about charging issues, from what ive seen the VZ alternator doesnt have a regulator that can be changed and is controlled by the PCM?

so basically just after some ideas where i should be looking, either alt or PCM computer issues.

[wamboin23]

prob be alternator. they still work like a standard regulator, the PCM can only change voltage by about a volt or so.

reg can be replaced, although it is an intergral part of the alternator.

[showbags]

May seem like a stupid question, but you have checked your earth battery leads haven't you?

[exellerant]

hey guys thanks for the reply.

earth leads were fine, the positive lead from the alt to the battery had gone brittle and cracked through and broken inside the rubber gromet on the back of the alt, thats why i couldnt see it at first. when i was doing some initial testing the day before the cable mustve been sitting nicely and making a connection as i had charging voltage after this initial warning came up on the dash.

i crimped up a new cable and installed it and everything is working perfect once again.