Ok I had a problem with my ignition light last year and this is what I
discovered with the help of Dan Masters et al. The light circuit provides
the alternator with the current to magnitize a coil within it that allows
the charging cycle to begin. With out the working circuit your alternator
may or may not charge the battery depending on whether the coil stays
magnitized or not. That little wire (brown) going into your alternator does
go back to the light. It should do what it is now but the fact of the
voltage not changing is probably due to the alternator staying magnitized
and working without the light. You're lucky it worked like that and didn't
leave you stranded somewhere with a dead battery.
Ryan Smith
72 Emerald Green Spitfire
>From: Mark Gardner <mrgrdnr@ix.netcom.com>
>Reply-To: Mark Gardner <mrgrdnr@ix.netcom.com>
>To: spitfires@autox.team.net
>Subject: Red "ignition" light
>Date: Sun, 21 Nov 1999 18:28:35 -0800
>
>Hi all - I snuck away in September when I went overseas on business, but
>here I come crawling back.
>
>I have an early '79 that I bought in June. I've put about 4500 miles on
>it since then, and am really enjoying it.
>
>However, when I tried to start it one day last week, the battery was too
>low to get her going. I put the battery on charge for the day. I took
>it off the cahrger that night but didn't get back to the car until this
>afternoon. I put a voltmeter on the battery, and the results were
>ambiguous. The voltage seemed slightly higher when the engine was
>running, but didn't seem to get above 13.5.
>
>The little red light on the dash labeled "ignition" hasn't worked since
>I've owned the car. This is one of those thing I figure I'd get around
>to. I assume it is really a charging circuit light. While looking for
>a charging circuit problem, I found a broken wire going into the
>alternater (the one closest to the engine - the one with the smallest
>spade connector). I soldered it up, thinking this was my whole problem,
>but the voltage doesn't seem to change with the engine running.
>However, now the little red light comes on when I turn the key on, and
>goes out (fades, doesn't cut off) shortly after I start the car. What
>is this light really? If this light comes on with the key and goes out
>shortly after the engine starts, what does this mean? I tend to trust
>the voltmeter, but I'd like to know what's going on.
>
>Thanks in advance,
>
>mark Gardner
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