P0563: How to Diagnose & Fix — System Voltage High

The 80A alternator on 1ZZ-FE Corollas is a typical high-mileage wear item; brushes, the voltage regulator or diode pack fail, or the bearings become noisy. Symptoms are a battery/charge warning light, dimming lights, and eventually a no-start when the battery discharges. A whining or grinding from the alternator bearing is common before outright failure.

The Dodge Challenger has a well-documented tendency to stall or shut off completely without warning while driving — a top-3 engine-category complaint at NHTSA and one of the most-reported electrical/engine problems at CarComplaints. There are two primary, separately documented root causes that present the same symptom. (1) ALTERNATOR FAILURE (3.6L Pentastar, and later 5.7L with electro-hydraulic power steering). Chrysler began investigating stalling complaints on 2011-2012 Dodge Chargers in August 2014 and found thermal fatigue of the silicon diodes inside the alternator. The large, intermittent current draw of the electro-hydraulic power-steering (EHPS) pump thermally stresses the diodes until the alternator fails suddenly. This became NHTSA recall 14V634 (Chrysler P60), covering ~434,000 2011-2014 Chrysler 300, Dodge Charger, Challenger, Durango, and 2012-2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee vehicles with the 3.6L engine and 160-amp alternator (remedy began Feb 27, 2015). It was later expanded under NHTSA recall 17V435 (remedy began Feb 12, 2018) to additional 2011-2014 cars with EHPS and 5.7L or 3.6L engines. NHTSA's stated consequence for both: "If the alternator fails, the vehicle may stall without warning, increasing the risk of a crash," with an additional risk of an underhood fire from a short circuit. (2) TIPM (Totally Integrated Power Module) / FUEL-PUMP-RELAY FAILURE (2008-2014, all engines). The TIPM is the car's central fuse/relay/electrical-distribution computer. When it (or its internal fuel-pump relay) degrades, owners report the engine stalling or shutting off mid-drive, intermittent no-starts, flickering lights, and multiple simultaneous warning lights (check engine, traction control/ESC, ABS). CarComplaints documents this on the 2009 Challenger ("engine shuts down while driving," 7 complaints, severity 8.6/10, ~$800 average repair, ~43,300 miles) and the 2013 Challenger ("bad TIPM," 12 complaints, severity 7.2/10, ~$940 average repair, ~43,050 miles). Because the engine quits unexpectedly, the driver loses power steering and (on automatics) power braking assist while the car is in motion — making this a genuine safety hazard, especially in intersections, on highway merges, and during turns. Multiple NHTSA complaints describe near-crashes and crashes from sudden loss of power.

The 2011-2014 Dodge Challenger is the subject of two overlapping NHTSA safety recalls for sudden alternator failure, and CarComplaints.com ranks alternator failure among the worst-reported electrical problems on the 2012 model year (its lowest-rated year overall). The root cause is thermal fatigue of the alternator's internal silicon rectifier diodes: repeated heat cycling cracks the diodes, producing rapid, near-warningless failure that can manifest as no output, reduced output, or a fully shorted-to-ground condition. Recall 14V634 (filed October 2014, remedy began February 2015, Chrysler campaign P60) covers 2011-2014 Chrysler 300, Dodge Charger, Challenger and Durango plus 2012-2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee built April 22, 2010 to January 2, 2014 with the 3.6L Pentastar V6 and a 160-amp alternator -- roughly 435,000 vehicles. Recall 17V435 (filed July 2017, remedy began February 2018, campaign T36) expanded the population to vehicles with Electro-Hydraulic Power Steering (EHPS) and either the 3.6L V6 or 5.7L V8 HEMI equipped with 160-, 180-, or 220-amp alternators, built August 23, 2010 to July 7, 2014. When the alternator fails the engine can stall without warning, raising crash risk; the voltage collapse can also disable safety systems (ABS / electronic stability control warning lamps illuminate and the systems can drop out) and, on EHPS-equipped cars, cause loss of power-steering assist, making the vehicle hard to control. In a worst-case shorted condition the alternator can overheat and catch fire. CarComplaints owners report failures clustering around 40,000-55,000 miles -- typically just outside the 36,000-mile basic warranty -- with whining/hissing from the engine bay, flickering ABS and traction-control lights, dimming headlights and interior lights, burning smells, and in several cases visible smoke or fire before complete shutdown.

The alternator (or its integrated voltage regulator) commonly wears out around 100,000-150,000 miles, showing a battery/charging warning light, headlights and dash lights that dim at idle and brighten with revs, and eventually a no-start from a dead battery. On 2013-2016 cars the battery sensor is also under recall 17V-418 (moisture can enter the sensor case and short it, a fire risk), so the charging fault must be pinpointed before parts are replaced.

eTorque (mild-hybrid) Wranglers replace the conventional alternator/starter with a 48V belt-driven motor-generator (BSG/MGU) plus a 48V power pack unit (PPU) and a 12V system. Owners report charging-system failures, battery warning lights, rough/failed auto-starts during stop-start cycling, voltage drops, stalling, and no-starts. The most common culprit is the 48V PPU rather than the MGU itself, though both fail. The MGU/BSG (Mopar 68452771AF) is expensive and, once replaced, must be programmed with the dealer scan tool or it will not function. Components fall under the 8-year/80k-mile hybrid warranty, but out-of-warranty repairs are costly.