Well got my scanner today and thought I was going to see a lot of codes but ended up that only 1 code shows and that is the Code 53 which is "high system voltage".

With my car running and everything turned on if you measure across the battery terminals its always about a steady 15.10 and it will go alittle higher and maybe alittle lower but usually says there.

What kind of problems would this cause as far as performance or any parts of the other system and what would most likely be the cause of this issue?

 

The cause would be the voltage regulator in the alternator. If it gets too high, it could fry everthing electrical in your car.

 

oh holly crap lol. Well no starting or testing until I get that replaced then.

So that means that could probably cause all sorts of issues while running or trying to drive it.

Thanks!

 

I was not trying to alarm you. I don't know how high it has to get to cause damage, but if the PCM is complaining, I would consider doing something about it.

 

Well we went and purchased a new alt. tonight and will put it on tomorrow to test it and see if that corrects the issue.

I just know that 15+ is alittle high to let it keep going.

Thanks for the help, keep any other ideas coming just in case.

 

"Alarm" isn't necessarily bad........

Neighbor of mine had an overcharging problem with his brand new Infinity Q45. Parked the car in the garage, went inside. Battery exploded and set the car on fire. The fire dept. was able to save the house, but not the Q-ship.

 

Well replaced the Alt and I still get the code 53 on the first bit of startup then that code goes away after the car settles down.

But, once the cod 53 goes away the SES light is still on. I use the scanner to clear the codes and it's off for a second then it comes back on. I scan for codes and there are no codes yet the SES light is on.

I do have the ABS Inop light on also. Could that be why the SES light is on with no codes? or is it something else?

Thanks

 

Well had the battery load tested and shows to be fine as well.

So I now I have a new Alt. and a battery that shows to be good under a load test.

What else can cause a code 53? Also when the car settles it's idle becomes steady but then drops a bit then comes back but never dies.

Also the only other issue is that when it's in reverse it will squat and spin tires if you want but going into drive when you hit the gas it revs but doesn't take as quick as it should.

Any ideas?

 

DTC 53 sets when the voltage at the PCM IGN input pin is greater than 17.1V for 2 seconds.

 

Oh ok, any reason why it would do that?

I have checked all my grounds, new Alt, battery tested good so I am kind of loss as to why I would continue to keep getting the code 53. I clear out the code and it always comes back.

The car once warmed up or so will begin to drop in idle and come back up. When I put my meter on the battery it would show 14v or so then when the idle would drop it would go to around 13.60, 13.80 etc... somewhere in those areas.

Thanks

 

Still trying to figure this out as the voltage goes up on cold startup like it should and even idles down as the car warms up.

The 53 codes shows up but if I turn on everything in the car that I can the voltage will go low enough to kick off the ses light and there are no codes at that point. Turn everything off and it goes back up and the SES light and code are back.

But I have checked/cleaned the groundes on each side of the radiator, the strap over on the drivers side, the neg. battery cable ground and the pcm ground. I am stumped right now at this point.

 

Have you probed the voltage at the "PCM IGN" pins (B30 and D3) on the PCM? That's not the same point that the volt meter on the dash is reading. You could also read the PCM IGN voltage directly form the PCM with a scan. A data log would show if and when the voltage is exceding the threshold that sets the code.

 

No, I haven't done anything with those pins as I didn't know which pins to look for.

I do know when I had someone start the car and I watch the battery voltage it never gets close to 17.1...it never even gets past 14.5.

Mike

 

Forget about reading at the battery. The problem is at the PCM as Fred informed you. If you don't want to probe where he instructed, then at least remove the grounds for the PCM and clean them and point of contact and put them back. They are on the block above the starter, near the ICM and the front radiator support.