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16 Volt Alternators

Posted: Thu May 13, 2010 6:06 am
by w1dhm
Has anyone run into problems from GM alternators putting out 16VDC?
Seeing this in Silverados and Impalas.
Initial findings say it is a part of a new GM fuel savings configuration. We have been having power inverters shut down once the voltage reaches 15 Volts and a few two ways fail with controller issues. Most electronic components in equipment is only rated to 15 V.
Any comments or opinions appreciated

Re: 16 Volt Alternators

Posted: Fri May 14, 2010 8:23 am
by motorola_otaku
What year model Impala, and are they civvie-version or 9C1/9C3? I haven't seen anything yet in my '07 9C3 to indicate overvoltage problems, and I definitely didn't have a problem with overvoltage in my '01 or either of my '04s.

I honestly can't picture it being an actual factory option because it would cook the battery.

Re: 16 Volt Alternators

Posted: Fri May 14, 2010 12:25 pm
by Tom in D.C.
And there does not seem to be anything on the Chevrolet recall lists about this subject, at least not on the lists that pop up on the internet.

Re: 16 Volt Alternators

Posted: Sat May 15, 2010 1:19 pm
by wa6ylb
We see this in the Tahoe products. We use a power tamer module that disconnects the load when the voltage gets high like you mentioned. The vehicle lighting also suffers short life too. So far, we've not gotten anywhere on figuring out
whats up with these vehicles. Very frustrating.