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1999 Pontiac Bonneville/alternator

Sent to Car Experts June 6 2006 at 9:59 AM
   

1999 Pontiac Bonneville/alternator occasionally quits charging for five to ten seconds after making a turn and the engine would quit. Replaced the battery and alternator, alternator still quits charging on occasion, but the engine continues to run. I have had the charging system tested by three different facilities and all have concluded it's working fine. The vehicle has 139,000 miles on it and is in excellent shape. I have been told the alternator has a ten second delay built into it and i am wondering if the problem could be in the ECM. I am not getting any check engine lights or codes.

Thanks,

D Habedank
Customer (name blocked for privacy)@garfield-twp.com

 

Optional Information:
1999 Pontiac Bonneville 3800 V-6

Already Tried:
New Battery New Alternator New Belt Multiple tests of Charging System
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Customer (name blocked for privacy)
Reply
June 6 2006 at 10:39 AM (3 minutes and 40 seconds later)
         
Reply to RIP's Post: It doesn't seem to make much difference if the air conditioning is on or not. I have 139,000 miles on the vehicle and it runs great, doesn't burn any oil and the fuel economy is above average. Thanks, Denny
Answer
June 6 2006 at 10:58 AM (18 minutes and 15 seconds later)
         
ACCEPTEDCheck Mark

Stalling on a turn is an indication that one of the accessories on the front of the engine is "freezing" up and causing the crankshaft to momentarily stop turning long enough for the engine to shut down. The reason this would occure on turns is that the engine is on a large load during a turn because of the power steering, similar to the load of an incline. So if thestalling issue, went away after the alternator was replaced, it's possible the alternator had a front bearing that was freezing up and causing the stall, and no charge condition. Now after replacing it the belt tensioner or sepentine belt might have loosend or gotten weak, so around a turn the belt may not be spinning the alternator, which would be difficult to catch on regular testing. There are tools out there to check belt tension on this type of engine, have this done and the belt removed and power steering pump pully checked for binding. Another item, GM had problems with their positive cables becomming slightly loose on the battery and this caused a voltage drop to nthe computer. Check both cables and the battery health. Even if they seem tight, if you pull on the cable end upward, it should not move. If the battery is weak or shorted it will cause a new alternator to fail without showing any other signs. If the battery is older than 1 year, you may opt for replacing it if it shows weak under testing. Battery tests should be carried out by equipment capable of testing for shorted, unstable batteries.

-Rip




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