Charge Sys Fault & Transmission Fault INDIC. 98 S70 T5

[Ghassan]

Hi Guys,

My car has been very reliable upto today. Today, after starting routinely, the charge system warning indication illuminated. Strangely enough, in that same single trip 20 minutes later, the transmission performed a noticeable rough upshift and soon the transmission warning light also illuminated (as indicated by a yellow 'up' pointing arrow); I could tell that the car was only driving in 3rd gear.

After I arrived home, I parked the car and switched it off. I attempted a restart and the car didn't (not enough crank power to restart).

Are the transmission and charge failure related? Are these common problems? Please advise. Thank you.

Ghassan.

1998 S70 T5 Automatic
322,000km (~200,000miles).

[Ozark Lee]

The problems are not directly related but the transmission problem is likely being caused by the low charge on the battery.

My bet is that your alternator has gone out which you will need to replace. If you can get the car started any chain auto parts store should be able to test the alternator and verify that it is or is not working.

Once the voltage gets low enough the electronically controlled systems go into limp mode. I had the same alternator failure a couple of years ago on my Suburban and its electronically controlled transmission started to make some very, very bad shifting decisions.

Fix the alternator and the transmission problem will likely fix itself.

...Lee