dynamo generator light

[wintrading]

I do not know the technical words in English but that is because i come from the Netherlands.

But i got a slight problem the dynamo generator light keeps on burning. But everything seems to be ok. My volt meter gives good readings. And when i measure the volts at the battery everything seems to be ok too. Could it be the resistant(perhaps not good English) which makes the light go on and off.

I hope you understand. Thanks

[Apache]

If your voltage starts to drop then your alternator is sh.... er broken, otherwise there might be a diode short circuited on the charging lamp

[thatch]

There is a similar thread going on here:

www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=9&t=115492

mine has been on for the last year, and appears to be working fine. I've kind of got used to it now - very pretty!

[shpub]

If it is on then there is a fault. Usually the alternator control pack has gone funny if the 100 AMP fuse is OK. The control pack can partially fail and you don't see any problem for some time. Low charging or rough DV voltage are typically what the alternator produces in this case.

Most alternator specilaists have a test bench for these.

Steve
www.tvbooks.co.uk

[thatch]

Thanks Steve - i appreciate your advice.

Presumably the 100 AMP fuse is OK, as if that goes it sounds like it should be terminal?

So if the control pack is partially faulty, and I have "rough DV" (sounds dirty!) - does it really matter?

..and finally, is a new "Control Pack" expensive?

Thanks - I feel like I am getting to the bottom of this now.

[red griff 500]

Wintrading, does your voltmeter read 12v with engine off, and @14v when the engine is running? If so, the battery should be getting the charge it requires and so the problem should be something peculiar to the charging light itself - perhaps a faulty earth?

I had a fault with my alternator diode module where the voltage would occasionally dip to 12v (i.e. no 14v, no battery charge) and once it went up to 17v (complete with burning smell). A new module solved it (Magneti Marelli alternator module cost @ £18).

Hope this helps,

Steve

[starmist]

If the 100A fuse, (located underneath the engine, near the starter motor) has packed up, the light will come on and the alternator will cease charging the battery. Within about 10 miles, your engine will die.

Nothing terminal (excuse the pun) but the location of the fuse means that it is suceptible to corrosion. Mine went, but not straight away. I was getting an intermitent charging light first, then it went altogether.

You can bypass the fuse as a temporary measure, until you can get it fixed properly - it's only there to prevent the laternator overcharging the battery if the alternator starts playing up.

[shpub]

The 100A fuse can go high resistence which means that the alternator cannot deliver enough current. If the pack fails it can supply AC current which appears on the voltmeter as OK but in fact doesn't do the battery or anything else any good either. Can cause bad running and intermittent hiccups. I had this on the Griff a few months OK. Took the alternator to my local specialist and got it reconditioned/repaired. Cost about £72.

Steve
www.tvrbooks.co.uk

[thatch]

thanks again Steve - I'll get the alternator checked by a specialist then.

[thatch]

Sorry Wintrading, didnt mean to steal your thread.

Did all this make sense to you?

are you now sorted?


Andrew

[wintrading]

Allready thanks to all. But i have picked up the car and it seems to be the diode thing. Then it gets technical and i did not understand it anymore. But next time i bring in the car my mechanic will fix it. Perhaps an other question i tried to ask before on this forum is that i have some problems with my shocks my silent blocks wear out quickly. And then the handling worsens really fast. Is this a common thing? I am going to replace them with rose joints what do you think.

[wintrading]

By the way it was not the 100 A fuse. Had that problems once. Was the first thing i checked.