Here is one more response. I was at good old Jerry's Generator yesterday
with mine and he checked it out. The lite stays on - just one intensity
- and the charging part works fine. It is an insipient failure that may
go out at any time,
but can hold for years - as long as I'm willing to ignore the light. It
is a simple fix, but requires removal from the plaything, which I am not
quite ready to do. …still playing, dontcha know!
There are several different model Lucas alternator - all I know is this
applies to mine, which is internally just like some Chevys. The other
writer was correct - on this model, the light should come on with the
ignition and in normal
condition, go out when charging occurs. If the filament in the bulb is
broken/burnt out, the circuit is not complete and the thing won't
charge. Most alts run a resister in parallel, so the condition of the
bulb is not crucial.
David McCartney
======================================================
Adrian Barnes wrote:
Well, I pulled the alternator and swapped it with another one of
unknown
condition. Now, the light goes off when the key goes off but stays
on while
the car is running. And it dims as the RPMs get higher. Since it
looked
like it was about to rain, I went ahead and drove it home. Made it
with no
problems (about 10 miles of highway and secondary roads, with stop
lights).
Pulled in the driveway as it began raining. Turned it off and it
started
right back up. Oh well... Sounds like something to do over the
weekend! I
haven't done any diagnosing other than swapping alternators. Thanks
for
everyone's input.
Adrian
-----Original Message-----
From: Adrian Barnes [mailto:adrian@workgroup.net]
Sent: Tuesday, September 12, 2000 12:23 PM
To: Spridgets (E-mail)
Subject: Accessory Light
I was getting into a fellow employee's car at lunch and happened to
glance
in my Midget ('75) and saw that the accessory (red) light was on,
even
though the key was out. I put the key in and even started the car,
took the
key out and the light stayed on. So I disconnected the wire so the
battery
won't go dead. Is this a sign of impending doom, or is it just a
weird
Lucas glitch? :-) Come to think of it, the light was flashing on
and off
sporadically on the way in this morning.
Adrian
--------------------------------
J. Adrian Barnes
Business Information Group, LLC
865.777.1382 x23
Fax 865.777.1383
http://www.midgetweb.com
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