Electrical Issues - 2012 Sonic

[MChambers]

I am having a strange issue of intermittent electrical issues. Most of the time, all is fine, but occasionally, there are wild power fluctuation that happen the entire time the car is running that trip. the dash LCD will flicker (which is how i know it is happening at the time), the radio will turn off and on, The cruise control sometimes pops off, and one time i had a near full stall (Engine was still running, but i lost acceleration, power steering, brakes, radio, headlights) which lasted about 5 seconds, then everything turned back on. Once it is happening, anything that creates extra load will cause a flicker; Turn Signals, Higher acceleration, High Beams, etc

It doesn't happen often, so mechanics are not able to pin point. I don't want someone to keep charging for parts that are symptoms, but not the problem. I just had the alternator replaced because they said the voltage was too high, but it is still happening. No more mechanic visits till i can get this nailed down to something specific.

I use BlueDriver OBDII diagnostic tool to live monitor the Voltage Control Module. I just had the problem on the work and i took some screenshots of the voltage. Normally, it is a steady graph with minor changes (0.5v or so smooth between 14v and 15v). These are what it looks like now, with erratic spiking between 12.8v and 16.0v.

If anyone has any ideas or hopefully has had this problem and fixed it, let me know please. Most of the time it is just annoying, but that large power loss situation was a bit concerning.

Here are the screen captures of the problem time.


https://drive.google.com/open?id=1imnA8KeDctzcAJQVFsW3XIuSdMHtrg84

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1V476ZUD3AISm8D-_NEHLPh9hdRD43eu7

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1PF_IcGJf9u8JvFh-e0DBbXgy9pNegHgZ

 

[Tormach]

(I have not encountered this problem, I have a 2012 Sonic as well) Electrical gremlins in cars can be a hassle to figure out and very time consuming.

With what you have going on, I would start with checking all the ground connections to the block & frame and battery pos/neg cables at all connection points. Also all the main harness connections for corrosion/moisture intrusion/worn frayed jacketing.

Diagnosing Voltage Drops - Electrical Automotive Troubleshooting


Hopefully someone else who is experienced automotive electrical systems chimes in.

 

[skurtov]

Well start with the easy part. Your battery. If its dead then it won't store voltage and can't provide for the electrical system.

 

[MChambers]

Not quite that easy, unfortunately. Not an old battery and it runs fine for sometimes weeks at a times without a hitch. Voltage on the battery itself is fine. The battery cables look good and are on secure. no fraying or exposed copper. It hasn't done it since I posted the original post. It almost acts like a software glitch.

 

[ToddlyTuesday]

I know this was 5 years ago, but did you ever figure out the issue? I’m having the same problem on my 2015.