Help!!!!! Extreme over voltage from ohio generator alternator! - DodgeIntrepid.Net Forums - Dodge Intrepid, Concorde, 300m and Eagle Vision chat

GettoTrepGreen · 10-08-2012, 03:02 PM

I have a 2000 Dodge Intrepid with the 2.7L engine with about 127,000 on her. I've had an ohio generator alternator on her for about two and half years that I bought second hand from a friend who had it for about 3 years before me. So when the bearings went out on me i wasn't two surprised. I sent it in to ohio gen and after alot of hassle I got it back in about a week and a half. It came with a spec sheet that had it putting out about 211 amps at like 6000rpm. pretty impressive for a 100 dollars in parts plus shipping and handling.

Now the bad.... I can't go above about 3 and a half grand and the alternator surges my voltage to 18volts or more. Its hard to tell since my volt gauge isn't the highest quality but anyways back on topic the voltage stays there and won't go down unless i unplug the two pin connector on the alternator and drive around without an alternator for about 10 or 15 mins. My car lights up like a chrismas tree including all headlights, dash lights, and interior lights and then the headlights, the dash lights and shift indicator shut off and wont go back on till i unplug the alternator. but the interior lights stay on no matter what i do untill i unplug the alternator and run the car until voltage drops below about 12volts

Im freaking out about this but all cell phones, and landlines around me dont work since some idiot cut a fiber optic cable near my town earlier today and I cant call ohio gen to see if they have any idea what it might be. please help me out guys.. you think it would be the voltage regulator or one of those two wires going to the plug on the alt. any suggestion is welcome im desperate

**cdmccul** · 10-08-2012, 03:04 PM

If you can post the the outside world, you can call out on VIOP.

Download Skype or use Google Voice to call them?

***crypt keeper*** · 10-08-2012, 03:19 PM

I would say the voltage regulator is bad.

**Adpros** · 10-08-2012, 09:45 PM

Perhaps the battery connections are corroded or dirty?

GettoTrepGreen · 10-08-2012, 09:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crypt keeper

I would say the voltage regulator is bad.

I'm pretty sure that entails replacing the whole pcm. and I would like to avoid that at all costs.
Plus I don't believe that would be solving the cause of the problem being that I have had this alt. in my car for little over a two years and haven't had any electrical problems with this until ohio gen rebuilt it and sent it back to me.

I never had the alt. tested when i bought it second hand so I'm not sure what it was putting out for amps but it did fix my dimming lights problem so it had to be putting out more amps than my original alt. that had around 100,000 miles on it.

would the simple fact that it's rebuilt and putting out even more amps than before somehow overloaded the voltage regulator?
Why would the alt. kick on and stay on when the engine goes above 3500 rpms putting 18volts constant to the car and continue to do that no matter if I turn the car off and back on or if i disconnect the plug on the alt for a short while and plug it back in before i drive with it disconnected for a while?

after it's disconnected and I let the car sit for awhile and then plug it back in the voltage regulator seems to be in perfect working order because it keeps the voltage at right around 14volts just like it always used to be?

Any thoughts anyone? Sorry I have so many questions but I love this car to death and I'm not giving up on it just yet.
She's still got about 350,000 miles left before I let her rest in peace.

**DrDodge** · 10-08-2012, 09:48 PM

something is goofy here,, if all was ok with the old alt, and this is going on with the new,,, first thought is the alt itself,,, second thought is like said above, bad connection,, ground etc. thought 3, is bad pcm,, as the pcm controls the voltage,,,,there is no regulator

GettoTrepGreen · 10-08-2012, 09:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adpros

Perhaps the battery connections are corroded or dirty?

I'm sorry to say I already checked them

They weren't corroded just a tad bit salty from Wisconsin winters but just in case I did clean them again.

Thanx for the input though

I have been known to over think things before lol quite a few that I'd like to forget still haha

Any other thoughts?

***Daytrepper*** · 10-08-2012, 09:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrDodge

something is goofy here,, if all was ok with the old alt, and this is going on with the new,,, first thought is the alt itself,,, second thought is like said above, bad connection,, ground etc. thought 3, is bad pcm,, as the pcm controls the voltage,,,,there is no regulator

^This.

I would start with a proper factory alternator, and check all connections and cables, for corrosion, looseness, etc.

Ive had bad luck in the past with "rebuilt" alternators from some random shop. Not recommended.

Alternators are quite an uncommon failure on these cars, so you could get away with a used one from the boneyard, provided it doesnt have a million miles on it.

That would be a good start, and cheaper than a PCM.

GettoTrepGreen · 10-08-2012, 10:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrDodge

something is goofy here,, if all was ok with the old alt, and this is going on with the new,,, first thought is the alt itself,,, second thought is like said above, bad connection,, ground etc. thought 3, is bad pcm,, as the pcm controls the voltage,,,,there is no regulator

I have done the big three so i think my ground would be ok but ya never know.... there's no separate factory ground wire going to the alt or anything like that.... right? I don't remember having a separate wire there.

Also the alt. connector looks a little melted but it still looks like its making good pin connections. Anyone know what each of those wires actually controls? I've tried looking through the FSM but I never came out with a real solid answer.

**Adpros** · 10-08-2012, 10:01 PM

I don't know squat about Ohio Generator's products but, is this wired differently than a conventional alternator? The PCM controls the stock units as the regulator is built into the PCM. Does this unit you have use an external regulator?

GettoTrepGreen · 10-08-2012, 10:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daytrepper

^This.

I would start with a proper factory alternator, and check all connections and cables, for corrosion, looseness, etc.

Ive had bad luck in the past with "rebuilt" alternators from some random shop. Not recommended.

Alternators are quite an uncommon failure on these cars, so you could get away with a used one from the boneyard, provided it doesnt have a million miles on it.

That would be a good start, and cheaper than a PCM.

I've thought about getting a factory alt just to check things out but money and time is a little tight right now but its looking like thats my only route left at the moment...

And I'm not sure if it was made clear that I didn't just have my local alt shop "rebuild" it but I did sent it back to ohio gen simply because I thought they were suppose to be very reputable. What's your two cents on ohio gen?

I hope you don't take this the wrong way because I'm simply asking for future knowledge but how would a loose connection from the alt to the battery cause high voltage? Wouldn't it cause a low voltage problem?

GettoTrepGreen · 10-08-2012, 10:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adpros

I don't know squat about Ohio Generator's products but, is this wired differently than a conventional alternator? The PCM controls the stock units as the regulator is built into the PCM. Does this unit you have use an external regulator?

Nope the ohio gen looks exactly like a stock alt and uses all the same connections. The only difference is they stick an ohio gen sticker on it ha

***Daytrepper*** · 10-08-2012, 10:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GettoTrepGreen

I've thought about getting a factory alt just to check things out but money and time is a little tight right now but its looking like thats my only route left at the moment...

And I'm not sure if it was made clear that I didn't just have my local alt shop "rebuild" it but I did sent it back to ohio gen simply because I thought they were suppose to be very reputable. What's your two cents on ohio gen?

I hope you don't take this the wrong way because I'm simply asking for future knowledge but how would a loose connection from the alt to the battery cause high voltage? Wouldn't it cause a low voltage problem?

Never dealt with Ohio Generator. Have had a few Chrysler alternators rebuilt by "alternator fixit shops" with mediocre results, including one that stranded me in the middle of rural NC. Luckily it was a diesel Ram and I was able to make it to an autozone on battery power, if it would have been the trep, I'd have been up the creek...(much more power needed to run it)... No longer a fan of "rebuilt"....have had better luck at the salvage yard, and of course from OEM....Could have been the particular shop, but they were great on everything, but Chrysler stuff. LOL. Remanufactured is better, in my experience the rebuilders do not address all the potential problems.

A bad connection can cause an increased demand for voltage, resulting in an increased output, if the PCM sees a heavy draw, or demand, it can tell the alternator to put out more, which will also result in a hot/burnt connection.....just one of the simple things to check first, these cars are very sensitive to bad connections and electrical corrosion.

GettoTrepGreen · 10-08-2012, 10:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daytrepper

Never dealt with Ohio Generator. Have had a few Chrysler alternators rebuilt by "alternator fixit shops" with mediocre results, including one that stranded me in the middle of rural NC. Luckily it was a diesel Ram and I was able to make it to an autozone on battery power, if it would have been the trep, I'd have been up the creek...(much more power needed to run it)... No longer a fan of "rebuilt"....have had better luck at the salvage yard, and of course from OEM....Could have been the particular shop, but they were great on everything, but Chrysler stuff. LOL. Remanufactured is better, in my experience the rebuilders do not address all the potential problems.

A bad connection can cause an increased demand for voltage, resulting in an increased output, if the PCM sees a heavy draw, or demand, it can tell the alternator to put out more, which will also result in a hot/burnt connection.....just one of the simple things to check first, these cars are very sensitive to bad connections and electrical corrosion.

Well thanx alot I guess I get to go over all my power and ground connections in my engine just for shits and gigs.... yipee haha

Any thoughts on the two wires going into the plug?

***Daytrepper*** · 10-08-2012, 11:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GettoTrepGreen

Well thanx alot I guess I get to go over all my power and ground connections in my engine just for shits and gigs.... yipee haha

Any thoughts on the two wires going into the plug?

Those are basically the signal wires back to the PCM, telling it what to do with the alternator, when you unplug them, PCM doesnt know what is going on, so that could explain the "reset".