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#1
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Generator light always on
Hi RAMVA!
Today something funny happened to my 70 bug's gen light. Yesterday it was working just the way it should, but this morning, I started the car like usual, the lights turned on, then the oil warning light turned off, but the gen stayed on. So, obviously, I thought: "dammit, broken belt, 10 minutes lost", well, the belt was there and working well. So, maybe the generator was not charging, I measured the battery, It was charging. Checked the wires on the regulator, all tight. What else could it be? I just "restored" my speedo 3 days ago, but the warning light itself seems to be working. Did I miss something or this is another ghost haunting me? TIA, Karls |
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#2
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Karls Vladimir Peña wrote:
> Hi RAMVA! > > Today something funny happened to my 70 bug's gen light. Yesterday it was > working just the way it should, but this morning, I started the car like > usual, the lights turned on, then the oil warning light turned off, but the > gen stayed on. So, obviously, I thought: "dammit, broken belt, 10 minutes > lost", well, the belt was there and working well. So, maybe the generator > was not charging, I measured the battery, It was charging. Checked the wires > on the regulator, all tight. What else could it be? I just "restored" my > speedo 3 days ago, but the warning light itself seems to be working. Did I > miss something or this is another ghost haunting me? > > TIA, > Karls > > You should have measured 13.5 to 14.5V at the battery (fast idle). Take the meter and measure the voltage on Term #61 on the regulator. It should read the same as the battery. If it DOES read the same, then there is a wiring error or other problem in the speedo. -- Speedy Jim http://www.nls.net/mp/volks/ |
#3
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Thanks Jim, I just measured everything again. I got 12.3 V on the battery
with the car off. With the engine running I got 12.5 V. Went to the engine bay and measured the D+ on the Gen. It reads 1.4V!!! What does this mean? Measured the No-load voltage according to bentley, 1.3V!!! the brushes seem ok (still protruding), and I thought the brushes don't fail all of a sudden but slowly, am I wrong? What can I do to make sure it's the brushes or something else? Karls "Speedy Jim" > wrote in message ... > You should have measured 13.5 to 14.5V at the battery (fast idle). > Take the meter and measure the voltage on Term #61 on the > regulator. It should read the same as the battery. If it DOES > read the same, then there is a wiring error or other problem > in the speedo. > > -- > > Speedy Jim > http://www.nls.net/mp/volks/ |
#4
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Karls Vladimir Peña wrote:
> Thanks Jim, I just measured everything again. I got 12.3 V on the battery > with the car off. With the engine running I got 12.5 V. Went to the engine > bay and measured the D+ on the Gen. It reads 1.4V!!! What does this mean? > Measured the No-load voltage according to bentley, 1.3V!!! the brushes seem > ok (still protruding), and I thought the brushes don't fail all of a sudden > but slowly, am I wrong? > > What can I do to make sure it's the brushes or something else? > > Karls See the article on my web site: "How do I test my Generator?" (Maybe it shows exactly the same test you just did; I'm not certain.) -- Speedy Jim http://www.nls.net/mp/volks/ > > > "Speedy Jim" > wrote in message > ... > >> You should have measured 13.5 to 14.5V at the battery (fast idle). >> Take the meter and measure the voltage on Term #61 on the >>regulator. It should read the same as the battery. If it DOES >>read the same, then there is a wiring error or other problem >>in the speedo. >> >>-- >> >>Speedy Jim >>http://www.nls.net/mp/volks/ > > > > |
#5
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"Speedy Jim" > wrote in message ... > > > See the article on my web site: "How do I test my Generator?" > > (Maybe it shows exactly the same test you just did; I'm not certain.) > > -- > > Speedy Jim > http://www.nls.net/mp/volks/ > I will do that after eating some junk food. This morning I tried pushing the brushes (one of them) and there was no travel at all. If they are OK and the Gen needs to be polarized, why did this happen? I understand that a car that has not been used in a long time needs polarization, but a daily driver? can a short circuit cause this? maybe a short on the voltage regulator caused by a scissor type jack stored right next to it? just guessing. Karls |
#6
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Perfect! I tested it as it says on your website, failed the test, so did the
polarization procedure, it spun like a casino roulette. After that, I reconected the wires and fired it up. The Gen warning light went off just as it should. Thank you very much Jim. Now I'd like to know, why did a daily driver with just 8 hours off needed a polarization? What went (or I did) wrong? Karls "Speedy Jim" > wrote in message ... > See the article on my web site: "How do I test my Generator?" > > (Maybe it shows exactly the same test you just did; I'm not certain.) > > -- > > Speedy Jim > http://www.nls.net/mp/volks/ > |
#7
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Karls Vladimir Peña wrote:
> Perfect! I tested it as it says on your website, failed the test, so did the > polarization procedure, it spun like a casino roulette. After that, I > reconected the wires and fired it up. The Gen warning light went off just as > it should. Thank you very much Jim. > > Now I'd like to know, why did a daily driver with just 8 hours off needed a > polarization? What went (or I did) wrong? > > Karls Something happened. I bet your theory about the jack hitting the terminals was it. Sometimes a regulator will stick closed and do it too. Jim > > "Speedy Jim" > wrote in message > ... > >> See the article on my web site: "How do I test my Generator?" >> >>(Maybe it shows exactly the same test you just did; I'm not certain.) >> >>-- >> >>Speedy Jim >>http://www.nls.net/mp/volks/ >> > > > |
#8
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"Karls Vladimir Peña" > wrote: >Perfect! I tested it as it says on your website, failed the test, so did the > >polarization procedure, it spun like a casino roulette. After that, I >reconected the wires and fired it up. The Gen warning light went off just >as >it should. Thank you very much Jim. > >Now I'd like to know, why did a daily driver with just 8 hours off needed >a >polarization? What went (or I did) wrong? > >Karls Karls, Before I can reply to you I need to know what a polarization procedure is and how it is done. Sometime when I park the car for some time (+/-10 days) the generator light doesn't come on when I turn on the key. I start the engine, and then turn it off. The generator light comes on the next time I turn on the key. This is my only problem and I didn't try to find the cause yet. Joao 72 Super 1302 |
#9
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See the article on Jim's web site: "How do I test my Generator?"
"Joao Eliseu" > wrote in message ... > > "Karls Vladimir Peña" > wrote: >>Perfect! I tested it as it says on your website, failed the test, so did >>the >> >>polarization procedure, it spun like a casino roulette. After that, I >>reconected the wires and fired it up. The Gen warning light went off just >>as >>it should. Thank you very much Jim. >> >>Now I'd like to know, why did a daily driver with just 8 hours off needed >>a >>polarization? What went (or I did) wrong? >> >>Karls > > Karls, > > Before I can reply to you I need to know what a polarization procedure is > and how > it is done. > Sometime when I park the car for some time (+/-10 days) the generator > light doesn't > come on when I turn on the key. I start the engine, and then turn it off. > The generator > light comes on the next time I turn on the key. This is my only problem > and I didn't > try to find the cause yet. > > > Joao > 72 Super 1302 |
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