Mysteries abound in the powertrain government step; nearly anything can impress anything else.
As composite as existing automobiles are, there's nearly no such corporeality as a single-system failure. Nowadays's cars are an amalgamation of integrated systems, all carefully interlaced to deliver the personal computer as even administration as potential of every attribute of your machine's performance. The short transmit is that, good enough, an alternator can move a latest motorcar's transmission blameless as it can the radio, catalytic converter and yet tire compel.
Systems
Most of your transmission woes probably have more to do with a programmed strategy than an incidental failure.
Voltage Variation - Incidental Failures
Alternators with integrated voltage regulators may surge prior to failure, which can send unwanted power through the system.Voltage Blop is the most evident culprit where alternator-related transmission woes are concerned. Whether your alternator's voltage stays consistently below the required output, the transmission may modify programming to cache the engine rpm low to decrease load on the engine. Alternatively, some transmissions may have programming to lock the engine into a lower gear than it should to raise engine rpm and alternator speed with it.You can incision your van up into three basic systems (engine, drivetrain and chassis administration), all of them codependent to some size. The engine-management manner communicates with the drivetrain to optimize shift points and fuel efficiency, and it communicates with the chassis to temper anti-lock brakes, traction, cruise and stability controls. Whether anything goes misapprehension with the engine, every other method may demand to pocket money parameters to preserve performance, fuel economy and emissions compliance.
Voltage Variation - Programmed Strategies
The computer may reroute power away from delicate components like the powertrain-control module in the event of a surge, causing the transmission to either fail outright or use its best guess as to proper clutch pressure and shift points. The worst-case scenario is that a random voltage drop can deprive the transmission servos, torque converter lock-up and fluid controls of the power needed to keep the transmission functioning properly.
Other Issues
A bad alternator can cause a number of engine symptoms, which can by extension cause the transmission to act up. If the alternator cuts current to the ignition system, the engine will spit unburned fuel out of the exhaust and into the catalytic converter. If the engine computer reads the high converter temperature as a sign that you're towing or otherwise placing a load on the engine, it may drop the transmission out of overdrive to reduce engine load.