In a message dated 98-10-20 23:44:20 EDT, walker05@camosun.bc.ca writes:
> At idle there is no red light. Turned on all available accessories
> (lights (hi beam), radio, wipers. Fan motor is not hooked up (but should
> be, as it's a major draw on the system...)). Still no red light. When I
> rev it up the red light starts to glow. (not a lot! just enough to see
> amongst the other gauges. It's not as bright as it is on ignition / shut
> down)
> Now, my knowledge of GM alternators is fairly good. I *think* what might
> be happening is that the alternator is pushing more voltage at the
> "charge" end than is getting to the battery, and the difference is causing
> my light to glow. Where, exactly is the takeoff point for the light (the
> one that takes voltage off the battery).
Malcolm,
When the light gets brighter as the engine revs, it means (usually) that the
battery voltage is low. You may want to check your battery condition. The
other end of the alternator light is connected to the ignition switch, on the
same terminal as the ignition wires. On the ignition switch side of the lamp,
the wire is white. The other side of the ignition switch goes to the battery,
through the ammeter.
Just off the top of my head, I think a high resistance in the lead from the
ignition switch to the battery could give the symptoms you describe, but I'm
not sure that there wouldn't be other symptoms that would show up if this were
the case. It's late, so I'll draw out the circuit tomorrow and see if thats
plausible.
Dan Masters,
Alcoa, TN
'71 TR6---------3000mile/year driver, fully restored
'71 TR6---------undergoing full restoration and Ford 5.0 V8 insertion - see:
http://www.sky.net/~boballen/mg/Masters/index.html
'74 MGBGT---3000mile/year driver, original condition - slated for a V8 soon
'68 MGBGT---organ donor for the '74
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