Intermittent Charging System Fault

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BreakingDown

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I know a similar thread has been posted here before, unfortunately there was never a definitive conclusion. I have a '10 LR4 that a had a charging system fault light pop up a few weeks ago. It was intermittent, but ongoing (it would alternate between showing and not showing every minute or so). The other thread recommended an update to the ECM and replacing the alternator which I am waiting on now.

The part that concerns me is that the other day within 5 minutes of starting the car it threw every code at me and lit up the dash (ABS fault, gearbox failure, traction control, etc) and the car was shifting hard. After about 30 seconds with that, my dash screen and the entertainment/nav screen both went black. I got it back to the garage and left it. I was just assuming this was an extremely low battery issue since obviously not all of those things actually faulted at the same time. I could not even roll up my window.

However, I let the car sit for a day and just tried to start it and it was a tiny bit slow on the start (like a slightly low battery) but fired right up. All the codes were gone, as expected. The reason this concerned me was because if I had enough to start the car with a relatively strong start, why did all the codes get thrown? Does anyone have any pointers as to what I should do here besides alternator and the ECM update? The LR dealership acted like they had never heard of the update so I will try my indy when I am back in town. Unfortunately I think this is going to be the fix that forces me to sell, its been a great car but the unreliability is just a bit much
 

avslash

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I would check battery resting voltage. Should be around 12.6V. Any lower and battery is likely weak.

Check ground strap for tightness. It goes from the negative battery terminal to a stud located just behind and beside the battery compartment.

Check tightness of connection from battery to alternator.

Check that the connection for the BMS sensor on the ground strap is securely plugged in. It is a smallish 2 wire plug that connects to the rectangular sensor on the negative battery terminal.

You also really need to get a code reader and see what code the charging system is actually throwing. That should help you narrow it down more than anything else. If you don't own one, stop by O'Reilly or Autozone when the fault is occurring and they should be willing to scan the truck for you for free.

Once you know the actual code being thrown, check back in here and we can likely direct you on what to do next.
 

Cthehentz

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A failing alternator and or weak battery will cause issues, have you tested either of those and have you tried to livestream via OBD while driving to see any fluctuations in voltage?
 

Azoo

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Get a multimeter and just test the battery voltage before you start the car and test after you start the car. You should have about 12.3v to 12.6 on a sitting battery and you should have over 14.0V when the car is running. if you have less that 14.0V while the car is running then you need a new alternator.
 

Dhetticher

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I just had a similar scenario. Ordered a new alternator from LRDirect and issues are gone. Been a week now and still going strong. When I start the truck it turns over quick just like it did when I first replaced the battery.
 

Frank8

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There are gremlins. I had about 15k miles on my 2016 when the panel lit up like a Christmas tree. I called the dealer who suggested just shutting dow, waiting 15 minutes. I did that and everything was normal.

Just a few days ago the voltmeter in my cigarette lighter started jumping around from 12.2 V to 16. Independent of rpm. Just put a new battery a few days before.
The next day it was fine, showing it’s usual 14+ volts.

Ive been hanging a battery tender on the new battery. Even after a long drive the battery isn’t fully charged and takes a while for the tender to cut in.
 

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