"Battery Not Charging" message - Chevy TrailBlazer, TrailBlazer SS and GMC Envoy Forum

stuart · #1 01-16-2011, 01:30 PM

Last week soon after a hard acceleration to get into traffic the battery light came on and a Battery Not Charging message appeared. Consulting my Haynes manual I read that the only two possibilities to a battery not charging would be the battery or the alternator.

I removed the battery and took it to Auto Zone and it tested good. I then replaced the alternator. (The vehicle has 160K on it and the alternator has been making noise for well over a year so I decided to simply replace it.)

I just cranked the Envoy up and the light and warning message are still there. There is an slight inconsistency to this though. The first time I cranked the car it was there. The second time it did not appear until the engine had run about a minute. When left to idle there seems to be a cycling of some sorts as if the load on the engine changes or goes from a fast idle to a slow idle. After about 3-4 cycles of this the engine finally dies during one of the slow idle periods.

On a side note that might be related. The check engine light had come on a week or two earlier and I have to admit I didn't scan until last Friday. While taking the batter to be tested I rented a scanner. When I replaced the battery the CEL had gone out and the scan read "No Codes". The CEL light remains off.

Any help offered is appreciated.

Stuart

vipergg · #2 01-16-2011, 01:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stuart

Last week soon after a hard acceleration to get into traffic the battery light came on and a Battery Not Charging message appeared. Consulting my Haynes manual I read that the only two possibilities to a battery not charging would be the battery or the alternator.

I removed the battery and took it to Auto Zone and it tested good. I then replaced the alternator. (The vehicle has 160K on it and the alternator has been making noise for well over a year so I decided to simply replace it.)

I just cranked the Envoy up and the light and warning message are still there. There is an slight inconsistency to this though. The first time I cranked the car it was there. The second time it did not appear until the engine had run about a minute. When left to idle there seems to be a cycling of some sorts as if the load on the engine changes or goes from a fast idle to a slow idle. After about 3-4 cycles of this the engine finally dies during one of the slow idle periods.

On a side note that might be related. The check engine light had come on a week or two earlier and I have to admit I didn't scan until last Friday. While taking the batter to be tested I rented a scanner. When I replaced the battery the CEL had gone out and the scan read "No Codes". The CEL light remains off.

Any help offered is appreciated.

Stuart

Sounds like one of 2 things, possible dirty throttle body as previously said . Belt tension not as tight as it should be . If you have your defroster on then the AC compressor will cycle on and off like you are describing. Turn off defroster and see if its still cycling .

stuart · #3 01-16-2011, 02:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by barron03

Sounds like you need clean the throttle body.http://forums.trailvoy.com/showthrea...light=throttle

I cleaned it about 6 months ago. Think it needs it again so soon? How does a dirty TB affect the battery charging?

Quote:

Originally Posted by vipergg

Sounds like one of 2 things, possible dirty throttle body as previously said . Belt tension not as tight as it should be . If you have your defroster on then the AC compressor will cycle on and off like you are describing. Turn off defroster and see if its still cycling .

The Envoy has an automatic belt tensioner so I assume the belt is tight enough. I'm pretty sure the belt was replaced about 12K miles ago as I replaced the water pump, idler pulley and fan clutch.

crmcknight · #4 01-16-2011, 08:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stuart

I cleaned it about 6 months ago. Think it needs it again so soon? How does a dirty TB affect the battery charging?

Thats what I wonder too. It seems like a lot of people on this forum recommend cleaning the TB as a cure all for almost every issue. Whether it has anything to do with your situation or not, idk.

WOOLUF1952 · #5 01-16-2011, 11:40 PM

The Envoy has an automatic belt tensioner so I assume the belt is tight enough. I'm pretty sure the belt was replaced about 12K miles ago as I replaced the water pump, idler pulley and fan clutch.[/QUOTE]

The tensioner pulley is automatic, but after 160k the spring may be losing it's tension.

Quote:

Originally Posted by crmcknight

Thats what I wonder too. It seems like a lot of people on this forum recommend cleaning the TB as a cure all for almost every issue. Whether it has anything to do with your situation or not, idk.

If the idle will not stay steady after disconnecting the battery, when it was steady before the disconnect, it is a common symptom of a dirty t-body.

Also, to the OP: check all of the grounding spots for bad connections for your battery problems.

hatchet669 · #6 01-17-2011, 08:22 AM

i had a battery not charging message before... 1st problem was alternator wasnt charging after shop removed and reinstalled... put new one it.. tested it and it said not charging, we pulled out the DMM and it was charging fine... ordered a new plug that attaches to the alt. message went away...

stuart · #7 01-17-2011, 09:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hatchet669

i had a battery not charging message before... 1st problem was alternator wasnt charging after shop removed and reinstalled... put new one it.. tested it and it said not charging, we pulled out the DMM and it was charging fine... ordered a new plug that attaches to the alt. message went away...

Excuse my ignorance but what is a DMM? That plug that connects to the wiring harness, I assume you had to cut the wires and splice the new one on?

hatchet669 · #8 01-17-2011, 11:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stuart

Excuse my ignorance but what is a DMM? That plug that connects to the wiring harness, I assume you had to cut the wires and splice the new one on?

Quote:

Originally Posted by blckshdw

Digital multimeter, to measure the voltage

what he said... Digital MultiMeter... it can be used to see if the alternator is sending out the volts to the battery to ensure that the alt is working and charging the battery...

a shop was doing it at the time... but yea they got a new pigtail, cut the wires, and attached the new plug and all was good...

stuart · #9 01-17-2011, 01:11 PM

I did an inspection of the tensioner and it is steady while the engine is running not bouncing around like a loose belt might cause. In addition the indexing mark on the tensioner is between the marks on the assembly and belt looks good. I just went and bought a meter and found that the alternator is not charging. This is a new alternator just installed Saturday morning. The heavy cable going from the alternator to the battery appears to be intact, not showing any signs of abrasion. Next step?

stuart · #10 01-17-2011, 02:11 PM

Using a brand new meter I placed the probes on the battery terminal bolts (red and black respectively) while the engine was off and got a reading of about 12.1. I then started the engine and readings were between 11.3 and 11.0.