2009 Holden Calais troubleshooting

Tiny
TURBOTAEGZ
  • MEMBER
  • 2009 HOLDEN CALAIS
  • 3.6L
  • V6
  • RWD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 160,000 MILES
Hi, my 2009 VE calais commodore alternator light keeps coming on and staying on, the other day the whole car concked out on me n I couldnt even steer it, which was frightening for me. It just rolled. Then would not start. I had to chamge the battery! But now the lihgt is still on! Do I need to replace my alternate with a new one? And why is this happening? Any sugfestion / causes and advice would be much appreciated. Thank you. Kind regards, Taegan. :-)
Friday, March 21st, 2014 AT 7:06 AM

1 Reply

Tiny
CARADIODOC
  • MECHANIC
  • 34,331 POSTS
First of all, you will not lose steering control when the engine stalls. You just lose the power assist. If that is new to you, practice steering the car with a stalled engine in an empty parking lot so you get used to how it feels. The brakes will get much harder to apply too, so don't let that scare you. You'll get about three power-assisted stops, then the pedal will get real hard and touchy.

It sounds like the generator isn't recharging the battery while you're driving. You don't have to replace the battery for that. You have to use a home battery charger to recharge it. A new battery is also going to run down after about an hour of driving. Have the charging system tested. The generator is the most likely suspect, but not the only one.
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Friday, March 21st, 2014 AT 5:51 PM

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