DBAVERY1@aol.com wrote:
>
> Hi All,
>
> We left Friday night the entire trip requirred headlights and the only other
> thing going was the radio. After 5 hours of the trip the ignition light came
> on real faint. I turned off the radio and that was enough for the light to
> go off. It flickered a couple more times on the remaining 2 hours of driving.
> When I stopped and turned off the ignition key the ignition light came on
> bright - key off and out of the ignition. I unhooked the battery cable so the
> battery wouldn't drain.
>
> The next day I hooked up the cable and the ignition light was on all the time.
> Well it was alternator time. Hard to find anyone with one on short notice but
> I got a rebuilt from a Madison parts house and the car was back to charging
> perfectly.
>
> Well now goes the trip home - this time full daylight so NO headlights on and
> we didn't listen to the radio the entire trip so no accessories used. Again
> about 5 + hours out and we stopped for a bite to eat. When I started the car
> the ignition light was lit dimly. If I got the car up to 3500 RPM the light
> would go off so it appeared it was NOT charging at speeds up to 3500 RPM.
> Well I finished the trip at 3500 RPM and am safely home.
>
> When I got home I felt the alternator and it was very warm but I've never
> tried touching it after a trip so I don't know if it is hotter than normal or
> not. I felt all the wires from the alternator and they were fine - felt cool
> so I figured it wasn't a big draw causing the problem.
>
> Does anyone have any suggestions what might be going on? Did I just get a bad
> alternator on the rebuild? The starter just went out prior to the trip so
> that was new at the start also. Any help or suggestions will be appreciated.
>
> Denny
Denny, unfortunately this is classic alternator diode failure symptoms.
PaulH.
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