So it looks like this Hyundai needs ANOTHER alternator to repair the low voltage condition at idle.
However, are there any other VARIABLES that might be causing these alternators to die prematurely?
I perform some VOLTAGE DROP testing and we find something very interesting with the thermal camera…
TOPDON TC VIEW THERMAL CAMERA: ***$50 OFF!***
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B7LMB22Q?tag=onamzpineholl-20&linkCode=ssc&creativeASIN=B0B7LMB22Q&asc_item-id=amzn1.ideas.BH34H8T28VY4&ref_=aip_sf_list_spv_ofs_mixed_d_asin
IVAN’S PICO WAVEFORMS:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Qal4b8UXCp6vo873F0SQwNBqgI5SNPgO?usp=share_link
TOPDON TORNADO 90000 BATTERY CHARGER:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09XV64Q49?tag=onamzpineholl-20&linkCode=ssc&creativeASIN=B09XV64Q49&asc_item-id=amzn1.ideas.UKPVIGM4POWZ&ref_=aip_sf_list_spv_ofs_mixed_d_asin
THINKTOOL PROS: ***$100 OFF!***
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08XXWHQVJ?tag=onamzpineholl-20&linkCode=ssc&creativeASIN=B08XXWHQVJ&asc_item-id=amzn1.ideas.NHZL00NIDEPF&ref_=aip_sf_list_spv_ofs_mixed_d_asin
Enjoy!
Ivan
![Pin It](javascript:imwb_socialpress_window_open('http://pinterest.com/pin/create/bookmarklet/?media=https://i.ytimg.com/vi/9iyXF5e_4OA/hqdefault.jpg&url=http://carfixdiy.com/diy-car-repair-videos/hyundai/customer-replaces-alternator-every-year-hyundai-smart-charging-part-2/&description=Customer Replaces Alternator EVERY YEAR?? – (Hyundai "Smart" Charging – Part 2)')){kind=link}
I have a Toyota Camry which had an alternator, and had done about 170,000 miles. Found a flat battery one morning, and took the regulator/brushes assembly out, and replaced the brushes. Checked voltage, and charging (when cold) at 14 volts. Took the car for a drive, and again, a flat battery. At night, I needed a jump start, and drove home with dim lights, left engine running, and measured 10 volts..! I then replaced the regulator/brushes assembly, and in hotter conditions measured 14 volts. I think with this Hyundai the reference voltage was taken from the car body as a ground which reduced the charging voltage available to the battery, giving a perceived symptom of an alternator failure.
That was a very interesting case study. Glad that you were able to nail down both problems for the young lady. You are one of the best diagnosticians out there. Thanks for all you do.
I think putting in an extra ground on every car would save alot of headaches
old guy, if any undiagnosed electrical issues, no sophisticated tools. inspect cables, sand metal to bare n bright, battery cable connections (load test battery), same. clean n sand headlight connections. Surprising how many times problems are gone. Its pretty fast and saves so much time , some times overthinking stuff, just and old guy, been there, done that, lol
Well done. Hopefully that spray cleaned the threads for the bolt because as you said, most of the current runs through the threads.
The dead spot on the clockspring reminds me of the dead rear fuel tank level sensor on my dad's old Ford. The previous owner kept that tank full and only ran off of the front tank, so the contact wore through the winding on the rear tank sensor.
You are usually fairly good at electronics troubleshooting. Here, you missed the mark. Have you ever taken a course in "Loop and Nodal Circuit Analysis"? This problem reminded me of this type of analog troubleshooting. Think of it like this– the ECU was trying to regulate the alternator based on a reference which was ~2v more positive than battery minus. As the current changed thru that poor-ground, the voltage-drop would also change. (perhaps confusing the ECU) I wish one of the measurements you looked at would have been using ENGINE as ground…. this would have been interesting.
I was literally yelling at you. "fix the wire first"
Ivan I'm jonesin for some diagnosis material please post
Great job Ivan. You are always a pleasure to watch. Thanks for taking care of people the right way.
Too bad you didn’t take the time to ohm check the ground just to see what it would have shown. I still see techs ohm testing ground not realizing that it is a complete waste of time and a 100% inaccurate test. Would have been great to see it ohm out fine and still be a total failure as far as it’s ability to handle current.
You should spend some time driving a car with a smart charging system while watching the system voltage and current in and out of the battery, they do not operate anything like a fixed voltage charge system, they will stop charging when idling for some time, highway driving etc but then charge full current on trailing throttle, headlights on, demister ETC. While they sometimes target a lower system voltage (which combined with the voltage drop would bring the battery voltage down into the 11's like you saw) as it's much more economical from an energy perspective to charge a battery to 80-90% and in theory extends battery life due to not being run dry due to lack of maintenance, they take their main state of charge info from the current sensor, which is why when you have the jumper cable on to check the voltage drop issue, the current sensor would of been showing nothing happening, so no need to charge. Often unplugging the current sensor will set the system to a more conventional 13.8 to 14.4 fixed voltage charge style. The duty cycle to and from the alternator numbers will be something like how much the ECU is commanding to charge, vs how much the alternator is charging, temperature, high resistance from a nearly full battery etc can make the alternator override the commanded signal.
had an Elantra do that to me… Never figured it out either.
Great work!
ive been battling this in my 2008 hyundai too. they have some serious problems in their manufacturing
GUYz,
Nick has another 426 Hemi in his shop with problems. Watch
as he tears it down and tells us whats wrong with this one.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAQtP4_BTFU
!
So the customer will get less of a charge, while the battery gets more of a charge. Shocking what a bad connection can do.