Steve,
While driving home from Stowe, Vermont last night after attending the
British Invasion I too had the same symptons with my car. It had done
this previously and I had taken the car to a local NAPA shop. They
tested the charging system and found a diode not reading right, then it
did read right. Well, that was consistent with what my needle was
showing. It would be fine at times then would jump all over the place.
Thankfully at the very end of the trip it went fully over to discharge
and it was pretty clear it wasnt charging at all. I made it home and
plan on heading to the NAPA store again today. I am hopeful that it
will still be non-operating since I might be able to get it covered by
warranty since it is a GM. Makes me thankful that I figured out how to
mount it without cutting the housing. Doubt they would warranty it if
I had.
So, I would take it to a local auto parts store. Most of them should
be able to walk out to your car and check it out. Only took less than
5 minutes when I had mine tested.
Aaron
Aaron Cropley
71 TR6 (Throttle Body Injection!)
http://www.triumphowners.com/108
Topsham, Maine
-----Original Message-----
From: Steve Lindquist <lindquistse@charter.net>
To: 6pack@autox.team.net
Sent: Sat, 17 Sep 2005 18:30:17 -0400
Subject: Wild ammeter behavior
While driving to Maine last weekend in my TR250 I noticed that my
ammeter needle would periodically swing wildly from "C" to "D" and back
again. It normally sits right at the center of the dial. I tried to
see if it was related to rpm, as I was driving at Interstate speeds, but
it still seems to periodically flake out at any speed
I am assuming this is an alternator problem, (could be diodes or could
be mechanical ( bearings)). Any past experiences? What are my options
for diagnosing/repairing this little surprise?
Thanks,
Steve Lindquist
lindquistse@charter.net
|