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

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/

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/

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/
>
>
>
>

"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

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/
>

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/
>>
>
>
>

"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

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