11 replies to this topic

[xallenx]

My wife said that the battery light came on and on the message center it said "Power service urgent". I started the car and no message was stored. I turned everything on to see if the message would come back but nothing. Checked voltage while the car was running with Heat, radio, all lights on and it read 13.5V. Do I need to replace the alternator? Should I go ahead and do this or wait until the message comes back?

[68123GT]

What engine is in the XC? Usually means an alternator on the way out but some of the engines have other issues...

[xallenx]

68123GT, on 22 January 2012 - 04:37 AM, said:

What engine is in the XC? Usually means an alternator on the way out but some of the engines have other issues...

2.5T

[68123GT]

xallenx, on 22 January 2012 - 09:53 PM, said:

2.5T

Alternator would be most suspect then...

[Keaton85]

Or someone was listening to the radio and drained it down. I've had that every once in a while...

[68123GT]

please delete, on 23 January 2012 - 03:03 AM, said:

Or someone was listening to the radio and drained it down. I've had that every once in a while...

The power service urgent message does not come on when the battery charge is low, there is a another low battery voltage message that comes on when the battery is discharged... The power service message comes on when the alternator is not charging.

[Keaton85]

I guess I need to learn to read haha... Thanks!

[xallenx]

I went to Advance and Oreilly to get the charging system checked. Both the battery and alternator turned out to be good.

[cbpldc]

My old S80 would do that from time to time. I've seen quite a few with bad cables from the charging post down to the starter. As the cable deteriorates and resistance increases, oddball messages come across and sometimes a no-start condition occurs.

Chris

[xallenx]

I'll try to do a drop load test to check the cables.

[scumcity14]

xallenx, on 25 January 2012 - 12:20 AM, said:

oops..mistake

Edited by scumcity14, 25 January 2012 - 12:24 AM.

[Ihatespeedbumps]

As stated above, very likely an alternator failure in the works. They can be intermittent at first, and will fail at some point.

Be advised, if your shopping for replacements cheap parts store brands will not work. 05+ use a different alternator than other models. The signal wire is PWM signal from the CEM. Aftermarket rebuilds do not come with the proper voltage regulator, I can tell you from experience.