07 Saturn Vue - alternator not charging battery
 

I have an 07 Saturn Vue. The car with the wrench and the battery light came on yesterday in the middle of driving. I had the alternator checked and they said it was bad so I bought another one. BF Put it on the car, it is not charging the battery. Today, we changed the battery as well. The light , car with wrench in it, is still on and doesnt seem to be going off. The new battery and alternator are in but the alternator is still not charging the battery. Inline fuse and all other fuses have been checked and everything checks out ok. What else could it be? Wires are good and not grounding out, new battery, new alternator, but still nothing. SO FRUSTRATING!!!!!! If anyone has this issue or has had it please comment as I desperately need my car for work.

Thank you.

Check the fuse for the alternator in the underhood junction box or the interior junction block fuse block.

Is the v-6 or the 4 cylinder VUE? I have some experience with the 4 cylinder cars, they are similar to my car. On the 4 cylinder cars there is a fusible link in the big wire between the alternator and the battery feed. So a new alternator can also seem bad if this fuse/wire is bad. Check for voltage on the big wire at the alternator.

I knew you would chime in with the details. That's the harness with the split at the starter, yes?

Basically we are both saying to recheck the fuses. The alternator inline and the one in the fuse box.

Was the battery disconnected while the new alternator was installed?

So, it ended up being the wrong alternator. There are two for the V6 Redline. The auto parts sold us the higher amp output alternator and the ecm was not recognizing it. Once we swapped out the alternator for the correct one, everything charged as normal.

However, I do still have an ongoing issue that was present before this alternator issue.

When you pick up speed, at 65 MPH, the triangle with the exclamation mark comes on and the car gives power and then takes it away. When you hit bumps it is easier to pick up speed. Is there a speed limiter or something? OR does this sound like a wheel sensor perhaps?

Thank you all for your help! Hopefully we can figure this one out. I cant go over 70 or so.

Thank you for not answering Andy's question 4 vs 6 cyl nor telling us it was a redline. Details matter.

Glad it is running for you again.

What triangle? Where? We can't see the dash.
Any other messages? Check engine light?

Have you checked the owner's manual to see what the light stands for? They are buried on GM site but most are there if you don't have yours.

If it is and if stabilitrak you will need a full featured scanner to search and pull those codes

From definitions of dashboard symbols:

The triangle with the exclamation point is called a Master Warning Light. If this light is on, there will likely be text displayed as well on the instrument panel, or another warning light. Look for text in particular.

In other words, this light by itself doesn't tell you much. Look for a text message, possibly in the odometer area, or wherever on your vehicle you might see "service oil" or something like that. Or look for another light to be on, like oil pressure light, engine temperature light, etc. Your owner's manual should give you a good idea of what is ailing your Vue based on what you see on the instrument panel.

n.

So AGAIN, the ONLY light that comes on is the triangle with the exclamation point when you go 65 or over. THERE ARE NO OTHER LIGHTS, No engine light to pull codes, and under 65 there are no issues.

From what You do pull online, it is either something with the traction control. the tone rings. or a speed sensor.

Any thoughts??

ABS, traction control, BCM, transmission control module codes will not illuminate the check engine light.

As I mentioned above, you need a full featured scanner that is capable of communicating with the above list of modules. Stabilitrak depends on ABS components functioning normally so I would expect to find ABS errors. But a scan at AutoZone will not show those codes because the reader that they use does not have the ability to access those codes.

Either have your car diagnosed by a professional who will read the codes and get him to share them with you, or purchase a full featured scanner that can access these systems.

The Fuller featured scanners are not nearly as expensive as they used to be. Just make sure that any scanner you purchase states explicitly that it can read GM lan which is a communications network used by GM and is an implementation of OBD2.

Make sure it states it can read ABS, body control module, chassis codes, and communication codes.

If you plan to keep the vehicle and have any other newer vehicles, using it once or twice pays for itself. There are also Bluetooth base readers that talk to your cell phone or other device to perform the same function. Do not buy a cheap $20 Chinese Bluetooth clone. They are not loaded with the correct firmware and simply do not work and never will.

If you narrow down to some selections, feel free to post them here and we can help you decide. Please include the price of each so as to guide us in our decision.

Your description sounds like it is going into limp mode above a certain speed based on something malfunctioning right around 65 mi an hour. Having the code will make it much easier because it will in general tell you exactly which part of the system is malfunctioning.

You can easily spend four times more throwing parts at it than you would purchasing the proper scanner or having it professionally diagnosed. We of course do not recommend this approach.