Welcome to Just Commodores, a site specifically designed for all people who share the same passion as yourself.

New Posts Contact us

Just Commodores Forum Community

It takes just a moment to join our fantastic community

Register

VE Calais "Check Alternator" warning on dash

Deeznuts

New Member
Joined
Oct 6, 2009
Messages
28
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Members Ride
07 VE Calais
hey guys. sick of posting silly questions on here regarding my car.

to be honest i do not trust holden or any mechanic anymore. they see us young guys and see $$$.
for example last service i was told i need all 4 tyres replaced as they were unroadworthy... turns out the truth: rear tyres slight wear, front tyres brand new from the dealer purchase. so you can see.

current problem is driving today and now i have the alternator error light on the dash. both at lunch, and driving home from work. i do drive with my lights on all the time (in attempt to reduce other drivers hitting me). i did not have the battery under any stress. and i have never had it under stress as much as i can tell.

i looked up the warning in the drivers manual and just says the alternator is not working properly, take your car to a holden dealer.

so before i go in gullible i want to know what the possible causes are, what is wrong and how can i possibly fix it? or locate the problem? common issue?
driving with lights on, alternator buggered, battery near dead. new battery or a very costly repair instore? common in ve 07s?

i have a few other issues i have noticed over owning the vehicle ~6 months

randomly ESC warning picture/light comes on, disables itself and stays off until the next drive or pretty much when the enigine is switched off then started again. (never even touching the traction control button)
driving and the dash instrument panel lights dim down, also the center screen dims/turns off completely
after the last "repair" at holden dash displayed "Contact Dealer" on each start of the car for a few days (4 maybe) after the "repair". never does this anymore so i didnt bother whinging to holden about it.

i have found that there is also jack all VE commodore support/forum articles about that are like my findings. makes it really hard to find out what the heck is going on with these cars...

anyone have the same problems?
mechanics and dealers doing dodgys and giving you the runaround?

cheers any help appreciated :)
 

Boonz

Donating Member
Joined
Jul 27, 2005
Messages
4,042
Reaction score
49
Points
0
Age
35
Location
berri, south australia
Members Ride
green 355 VG ute
maybe you got rubbed up the wrong way.... but there is a common problem with those.... the alternator "L" terminal corrodes and gives the ECU wrong readings and stops charging... its on the side of the alternator, take the connector off and spray some CO contact cleaner in there, then put some electrical grease in the end of the connector and plug it back in....
 

Boonz

Donating Member
Joined
Jul 27, 2005
Messages
4,042
Reaction score
49
Points
0
Age
35
Location
berri, south australia
Members Ride
green 355 VG ute
esc light usually is caused by the wiring is too short on the RH rear control arm and the wiring stretches when going over certain bumps...
centre screen (Secondary Information sCreen) needs to be replaced to fix the problem... should of been done under warranty tho as it was a manufacturering fault

contact dealer comes up for any emission or communication line fault cos it stops the computers talking to each other
 

Deeznuts

New Member
Joined
Oct 6, 2009
Messages
28
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Members Ride
07 VE Calais
Boonz, cheers man! ill deffs pop the boot and bonnet and check connections tomorrow, even got some contact cleaner at work i can pinch lol. nice simple no bullshit answers. mechanics and dealers would be so much more better if they didnt bullshit me so much.
hopefully they are just connections and not a messed alt or battery.

about the secondary information screen, i have never reported the issue. so it might be faulty you say?
if it does it any worse then i might hit holden up for a visit again. already have a warranty still open for a "isolated issue" tcm/ecu module trans thumping haha.
cheers
 

Boonz

Donating Member
Joined
Jul 27, 2005
Messages
4,042
Reaction score
49
Points
0
Age
35
Location
berri, south australia
Members Ride
green 355 VG ute
pretty common problem with the screens... get it done before it outs of warranty tho... very costly procedure when out of warranty haha

make sure you use electrical grease on the connection to keep the water out otherwise you will get the same problem back in a few months
 

Deeznuts

New Member
Joined
Oct 6, 2009
Messages
28
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Members Ride
07 VE Calais
haha too late. warranty already out aye. ill just leave it and chuck it in the forget about it pile lol.
yup sure will :) hopefully it will solve the error screens. just to think if i went to holden tomorrow without asking i bet they would say, hmm yes sounds like the alternator is just about out, we'll have to put a new one in and a new battery too, not to mention dodging the costs involved. hahaha
 

Boonz

Donating Member
Joined
Jul 27, 2005
Messages
4,042
Reaction score
49
Points
0
Age
35
Location
berri, south australia
Members Ride
green 355 VG ute
still could be the alternator tho, depends how far the corrosion has spread.... try the connector yourself and see how it goes..... and being an 07 model, your battery will need to be replaced soon :p, trust me on that one...
 

Deeznuts

New Member
Joined
Oct 6, 2009
Messages
28
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Members Ride
07 VE Calais
yeah it could be anything really. thank f*** i now have extended warranty/mechanical failure insuarance :)
sick ill be prepared for that one! might replace soon i think, just to make sure.
 

greenacc

Searching for the billion
Joined
Jul 13, 2008
Messages
6,891
Reaction score
3,059
Points
113
Location
Sydney
Members Ride
VE Berlina
I'm confused, Boonz, if the problem where ESP switches itself off sometimes is caused by short wiring on the control arm couldn't you just extend the wire ?
 
Top