TROUBLE SHOOTER JULY 2015_Layout 1 6/18/15 12:42 PM Page 1

Trouble Shooter
As corporate average fuel economy requirements have crept
higher, vehicle manufacturers have had to look high and low
for ways to make each gallon of gasoline go just a bit further.
All Charged Up the engine started, and an alternator to provide
A 2007 Chevy Silverado came into the shop re- current to the vehicle’s electrical system while the
cently. The customer’s complaint was that at engine is running. Once the battery has been ad-
times the “Service Charging System” message on equately charged and the rest of the vehicle’s var-
the dash was coming on at idle. I let the engine ious systems are receiving enough current to op-
Karl idle for 10 minutes and the warning light did not erate properly, the alternator should be able to
Seyfert come on for me. The alternator charging rate was take a break, thus reducing the load on the en-
13.85V at the end of the 10-minute idle period. gine, cutting wear and tear on the alternator and
kseyfert@motor.com Scanning the PCM, I found that DTC P0622 was its drive system and improving fuel economy.
stored as a history code. I unplugged the two- But that’s not what happens on many of the
wire connector at the back of the alternator and vehicles we’ve been seeing on the road over the
probed the F terminal with a test light connected years. The alternator continues to pump out at
to B+. When I started the engine, the F terminal least some current all of the time and the electri-
PID went from 0% to 97% on the scanner. I be- cal system voltage is always maintained within a
lieve there’s an alternator problem, but I’m look- specified, narrow range. We’ve grown accus-
ing for a method to confirm this. tomed to testing these conventional charging sys-
Bill Wilson tems, and expect to see a certain amperage out-
Cheyenne, WY put and voltage level from the alternator at a spe-
cific engine rpm, with a large number of electri-
One system that has received attention from sev- cal loads applied.
eral vehicle manufacturers in their attempts to Several more recent vehicles use a variety of
improve fuel economy is the charging system. methods to control the alternator’s output more
Vehicles need a battery and a starter motor to get precisely, with an eye toward improved fuel
economy. One such system is GM’s regulated
voltage control (RVC) system. The GM RVC
charging system voltage normally varies between
Photo courtesy Repair Connector Store

approximately 11.5 and 15.5V.

RVC uses information from the battery cur-
rent sensor, calculated battery temperature and
system voltage to determine the perfect voltage
to supply to the battery. RVC allows the charging
voltage to drop below the “normal” 13.8 to 14.8V
to which we’re accustomed. If it takes only 13V at
a particular temperature to maintain the battery
at an 80% state of charge, there’s no need to
charge it at 14.8V.
With the regulator disconnected, a conventional Newer RVC charging systems may include up
test light can be used to test the alternator on a
GM RVC charging system. Connecting the test
to nine different charging rate strategies. During
light’s ground lead to the B+ terminal, then using one of them—the fuel economy mode, when
the test light probe to touch the alternator L termi- charging voltage is at its lowest—customers or
nal while the engine is running establishes technicians monitoring battery voltage may be-
whether the problem is wiring/PCM-related or a lieve there’s a charging system problem.
bad alternator. Trying to touch the L terminal can
be difficult if the alternator is in an awkward posi- Simply turning on all vehicle electrical system
tion. A jumper wire or a repair harness connector loads should cause a mode change and make the
like the one shown here may be preferable. alternator charging voltage rise. Additionally,

6 July 2015
TROUBLE SHOOTER JULY 2015_Layout 1 6/18/15 4:52 PM Page 2
Trouble Shooter
when the system is in battery sulfation
mode, charging voltage may rise to as
high as 15.5V for three to four min-
utes. When there’s a legitimate failure
in the system, the battery lamp should
illuminate and/or diagnostic trouble
codes should be stored. Two of the
most common DTCs are P0621 and
P0622.
PENNZOIL PLATINUM HE™ OIL FILTER DTC P0621 indicates an alternator
L terminal fault. The alternator L ter-
minal is the turn-on command for the
Synthetic-blended 2-ply gradient charging system from the PCM. The
density media has a 99% efficiency* PCM sends a 5V variable duty cycle
signal to command the alternator
charging voltage set point between 11
and 15.5V. The PCM will set DTC
P0621 when either of the following
conditions occurs:
•Alternator L circuit voltage is high
for longer than five seconds with the
key on, engine off (KOEO).
•Alternator L circuit voltage is low
for longer than 15 seconds with the key
on, engine running (KOER).
To test the alternator L circuit with
Greater capacity compared to economy the key in the Off position, use a pin to
oil filters – helps reduce engine wear and backprobe the L circuit at the alterna-
helps promote longer engine life
tor voltage regulator. The KOEO volt-
age should measure between 0 and
1.5V. If the reading is 1.5 to 5.5V,
check the alternator ground and have
Pennzoil Platinum HE™ oil filters
the alternator bench-tested. If the
outperform economy oil filters when reading is greater than 5.5V, check for
it comes to efficiency and capacity. a short to power.
So your customers get maximized The KOER voltage reading should
performance – and you get a measure between 3.5 and 5.5V. If the
reading is 0 to 1.5V, verify power and
maximized bottom line. Contact your
ground to the alternator, then have the
local Shell sales representative about alternator bench-tested. If the KOER
new Platinum HE™ oil filters. voltage reading is greater than 1.5 and
less than 3.5V, verify the PCM opera-
tion. If the voltage reading is greater
than 5.5V, test for a short to power.
DTC P0622 indicates an alternator
F terminal fault. The alternator F ter-
minal is a duty cycle signal that reflects
field operation. The PCM monitors
the F terminal to determine the alter-
nator’s load on the engine. The PCM
uses this information to adjust engine
RPM and alternator voltage set point.
The PCM sets code P0622 when ei-
ther of the following conditions occurs:
•The PCM detects a duty cycle sig-
Circle #6 nal greater than 65% for five seconds
KOEO.
*For particle sizes *30
 microns.
© SOPUS Products 2015. All rights reserved. CS9582-08
8 July 2015
•The PCM detects a duty cycle sig-
nal less than 5% for 15 seconds KOER.
To test the alternator F terminal op-
eration, verify the F terminal signal by
monitoring the F terminal Parameter
Identification (PID) on your scan tool.
In the KOER state, the GEN-F signal
should be between 5% and 95% duty
cycle.
To test the alternator F terminal
with the ignition off, unplug the volt-
age regulator connector. In the KOEO
state, monitor the GEN-F PID on your
scan tool. The reading should be 0%
duty cycle. If the duty cycle is higher
than specification, test for a short to
voltage.
Connect one lead of a test lamp to
the alternator B+ terminal, then use its
probe to probe the voltage regulator
harness at the F terminal. Monitor the
GEN-F PID on the scan tool. The scan
tool reading should read 95% to 100%
duty cycle KOER. If the duty cycle is
below 5%, test for an open or short to
ground in the F circuit, then have the
alternator bench-tested.
If you have an oscilloscope, you can
also use it in place of a voltmeter to
conduct these tests. Keep in mind that
the signal on the L terminal represents
the PCM’s command to the alternator
to control its charging rate. The PCM
makes its charging rate decisions based
on electrical system loads. It confirms
that the alternator is responding to its
commands by monitoring the signal at
the alternator F terminal.
A faulty alternator may not be able
to comply with the PCM’s commands
and its F terminal duty cycle readings
may be very erratic. Keep in mind that
the L terminal duty cycle should never
reach 0% duty cycle KOER. The alter-
nator’s charging rate is reduced by the
PCM to save fuel, but it should never
be completely shut down.
Thanks to Remy International for in-
formation on RVC testing. As a manu-
facturer of these alternators, Remy
should know a thing or two about how
to test them. Remy regularly publishes
tech bulletins on electrical system is-
sues on their website, at www.remy
inc.com. Technical assistance from the
company’s ASE-certified technicians is
also offered.