Battery light coming on after a short while driving

[scotth93]

hey folks



After my van (Mk7 100 t260 fwd 2.2l swb 2013) getting some work done(spring>brake pipes> a cailliper ) my van had been sitting for a couple weeks whlist my dad worked away at it.

eventually got the brakes bleed and went to start it and the van was dead. so we used a booster and it started no problem

The other night i went to tesco and when i came out the battery was dead, my dad came down with the booster again and it started no problem, after chatting for about 5 mins i wwnt to jump back in and the battery light had came on.


i said to my dad and he follow me up the road, with the van cutting out before getting out the car park.

So the next day i hooked up forscan, and the battery was showing 10v-ish so wee assumed it was the battery, so i replaced it today, hooked up forscan and its only showing 11v.

in the DTC i have a pcm error code

p1632:09 2f

Code: P1632 - Smart Alternator Faults Sensor / Circuit

Additional Fault Symptom (:09):
- Component Failures

Status (-2F):
- DTC Present at Time of Request
- Malfunction Indicator Lamp is Off for this DTC

Module: Powertrain Control Module

Freeze Frame #1:
-EVENT_TIME: 345048079 s (Sat Apr 20 11:47:07 2024) - Event time
-TOTAL_DISTANCE: 168305 miles - Total Distance
-MODULE_VOLTAGE: 11.0 V - Control Module Voltage

and

p1632:49 2f

Code: P1632 - Smart Alternator Faults Sensor / Circuit

Additional Fault Symptom (:49): - Internal Electronic Failure

Status (-2F):
- DTC Present at Time of Request
- Malfunction Indicator Lamp is Off for this DTC

Module: Powertrain Control Module

Freeze Frame #1:
-EVENT_TIME: 345048079 s (Sat Apr 20 11:47:07 2024) - Event time
-TOTAL_DISTANCE: 168305 miles - Total Distance
-MODULE_VOLTAGE: 11.0 V - Control Module Voltage

in the pid data the the generator/alternator voltage is reading 14.9v

[metalworker0]

Dont think they had a smart alternator in 2013 ..so is it possible you've dialed in the wrong vehicle into forscan ..

some of those faults will be old faults ..from before you replaced the battery.

i would go through it all ..as it is 2013 - 11 year old van - it may have corrosion on all thick wire terminals ..that's the earths, positives ..all need taking off cleaning ..wire brushing etc ..before you do further diagnostics ..if that has not put it right.

also if it has two batteries ..one can run the good one down.

all the best.mark

[metalworker0]

edit .i was wrong about that smart alternators, they came in in 2012.

other than advice above ..now beyond my knowledge. and probably beyond a lot of peoples knowledge here.

all the best.mark

[scotth93]

Dont think they had a smart alternator in 2013 ..so is it possible you've dialed in the wrong vehicle into forscan ..

some of those faults will be old faults ..from before you replaced the battery.

i would go through it all ..as it is 2013 - 11 year old van - it may have corrosion on all thick wire terminals ..that's the earths, positives ..all need taking off cleaning ..wire brushing etc ..before you do further diagnostics ..if that has not put it right.

also if it has two batteries ..one can run the good one down.

all the best.mark

Sorry I should have said its just the one battery. All codes are new, I think lol

[andz327]

Hi, did you fit the correct type of battery ? I think smart charge needs a silver calcium or calcium battery, have you checked the actual battery voltage( Not using forscan)
if the brake pipes and other work that got done was under the bonnet around engine area it's possible the smart charging wiring maybe been disturbed and possible broken wire,
Mk7 are also prone to faulty ignition switch that can cause weird electrical problems

Sent from my SM-G990B using Tapatalk

[scotth93]

Hi, did you fit the correct type of battery ? I think smart charge needs a silver calcium or calcium battery, have you checked the actual battery voltage( Not using forscan)
if the brake pipes and other work that got done was under the bonnet around engine area it's possible the smart charging wiring maybe been disturbed and possible broken wire,
Mk7 are also prone to faulty ignition switch that can cause weird electrical problems

Sent from my SM-G990B using Tapatalk

Sounds like a ball ache.

Will get a proper look today. The battery was bought using my number plate through dingbro so I'd hope it was right.


Thanks for the response.

[tranmx2]

2012 2.2 RWD E5. Has smart BMS. Batteries Lucas LP110 lead acid. Alternator WAI 150A.
Had both codes same as yours and 11 V on DMM and 14.90 V on Forscan GAVS live data.

From GSF £231.49 WAI alternator 150A. Pulley 59 OD, 7 ribs. Unique ref ZA052216. Has clutch pulley. GSF shows 09/11 - 12/14.

There's a variety of alternators and pulleys. Transits are not all the same.

Put VIN into 7zap, Catcar, Autodoc. In England the vehicles reg number is used.

[andz327]

2012 2.2 RWD E5. Has smart BMS. Batteries Lucas LP110 lead acid. Alternator WAI 150A.
Had both codes same as yours and 11 V on DMM and 14.90 V on Forscan GAVS live data.

From GSF £231.49 WAI alternator 150A. Pulley 59 OD, 7 ribs. Unique ref ZA052216. Has clutch pulley. GSF shows 09/11 - 12/14.

There's a variety of alternators and pulleys. Transits are not all the same.

Put VIN into 7zap, Catcar, Autodoc. In the UK vehicles reg number is used.

Sent from my SM-G990B using Tapatalk

[andz327]

Good shout (alternator clutch pulley )although he mentioned it showing 14.9v when running

Sent from my SM-G990B using Tapatalk

[scotth93]

2012 2.2 RWD E5. Has smart BMS. Batteries Lucas LP110 lead acid. Alternator WAI 150A.
Had both codes same as yours and 11 V on DMM and 14.90 V on Forscan GAVS live data.

From GSF £231.49 WAI alternator 150A. Pulley 59 OD, 7 ribs. Unique ref ZA052216. Has clutch pulley. GSF shows 09/11 - 12/14.

There's a variety of alternators and pulleys. Transits are not all the same.

Put VIN into 7zap, Catcar, Autodoc. In England the vehicles reg number is used.

Im clueless with car stuff lol ill pass this on to my dad.
this is the battery that i fitted https://www.gsfcarparts.com/za042899, Im in scotland..

really need to check the wiring etc, but the weather today has been rubbish.

*edit eurocar parts have said these 3 alternators will do, but im not sure if its an alterntor isssue or wiring lol.

https://www.eurocarparts.com/p/lucas-alternator-401592161
https://www.eurocarparts.com/p/starline ... -40159216s
https://www.eurocarparts.com/p/bosch-al ... -401592160

[metalworker0]

Yeah, wiring connectors before any of those expensive items ..driven through any floods? ..that could let water sit and corrode in multiplugs, so all low down mounted multplugs in engine should be pulled apart as well as the thick wiring ..positive and earths.

The Electrical Contact Cleaner stuff is handy .. cleans those multipin connectors and puts on a protective film.

all the best.mark

[scotth93]

Yeah, wiring connectors before any of those expensive items ..driven through any floods? ..that could let water sit and corrode in multiplugs, so all low down mounted multplugs in engine should be pulled apart as well as the thick wiring ..positive and earths.

The Electrical Contact Cleaner stuff is handy .. cleans those multipin connectors and puts on a protective film.

all the best.mark

nope nothing like that.

yeah i have some good "degreaser" that is safe for eletrial circuits, so ill try that first, if no joy looks like itll be an alternator lol.

[scotth93]

Hi folks

Just a quick question, so through cable and that today they all look good.

Then battery clearly isn't charging and died when I went to leave my dads.

So is it possible, forescan is giving out a false reading from the alternator? Would that even be possible lol?

[metalworker0]

Sorry don't know how a smart alternator works, it may be charging 14 volts etc ..then it gets switched off by the computer when battery is detected as fully charged .

so if the computer thinks its fully charged it will switch it off ..

remember the word "thinks"
a faulty ecu can think wrong ,..a faulty sensor can tell it its charged ..what components are in the back of these alternators ..i don't know

i bought a smart battery charger ..once ..it was putting out charging voltage ..but hardly and amps - so no good

Think you are looking for a weak link ..you said cables look alright ...i would not be satisfied with that pull the whole lot apart get that task out of the way or you may be spending hundreds of pounds for nothing ..sometimes just taking the cable off and reinstalling on an alternator could fix it ,...which may make you think the new alternators fixed it ...but it hasn't ..the cable on / off business did .

all the best.mark