I've got the power....not

[MMMC]

Dudes - replaced my regulator today cause my battery was going dead and the light on the dash didn't work... Anyway I have a voltmeter on the dash and I assumed that if the charging system is working then it will jump from 12 volts up to 13 or 14 volts - however this dosn't happen. The juice holds at about 12 volts....

HOWEVER when I put the lights on or the wipers coupled with brakes and indictaors the volts just drop on the dash voltmeter - is this right??

On my ghia I notice when the lights are on at idle the lights are dim but then when I put my foot down the charge comes up - I thought this would be the same on the van - but they just remain constant.

 

[gninnam]

You are right, the voltmeter should show 14Volts when revving the engine.
Checked the fan belt to the dyno/alty?

 

[MMMC]

yep check that the belt is fine to the dyno...so my meter should read 14v - even with lights, wipers on?

 

[gninnam]

yep check that the belt is fine to the dyno...so my meter should read 14v - even with lights, wipers on?

You'll probably fine at tickover that it hovers just over 12Volts, but when
it's revved (just above tickover) then it should increase to a max of 14 or so!

Have you tried a multimeter on your battery to see what that is giving out, in case the dash volmeter is
no longer metering correctly :?:

If battery is showing incorrect volts, then perhaps you need to see if the battery is stuffed.

 

[MMMC]

problem solved...bloody D+ wire was on DF and DF on D+! Now I've swapped it I've got top power...hovers at 14v! Cheers for the tips! Next time I'll check the wiring before buying parts...

Out of interest will the bad wiring have messed up the regulator???

 

[pete nice]

If the light goes out & you have a guage that reads 14v then it looks like it's ok.

 

[MMMC]

cool - yep full 14v - just been out in the rain and had the lights on and wiper and stereo - still getting a good 13v with everything on.

The generator light dosn't seem to work on the dash - there is about 3v coming off the terminal on the regulator so its probably the bulb...I presume 3v is enough to light the bulb if it works?

 

[pete nice]

It works the other way round. The oil light & gen light have 12v feed to them, then they are switched earths.

 

[MMMC]

cheers Pete - looks like its the bulb if everything else is charging - I'll leave that project for another day....