losing charge

[redbus1]

I have a 1969/70 van and when i stop/slow down she loses power and the -G- light - which I've found indicates the generator - comes on; I would therefeore hazard a guess that something (battery/alternator/whatever) isn't charging. Not being in any way a techie & thus being at the mercy of the gods, i'm not sure what to do. if I leave her to settle for a while, she eventually starts again (usually under protest) but this isn't likely to be taken kindly to if I am in a petrol station or on a busy roundabout.
I would welcome any suggestions. thanks

 

[justjoe]

sounds like your fan belt needs adjusting , http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mwZ5NGi-2Y" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; try that, then get a battery/circuit tester , cheap and easy to pick up halfords even aldi sell em , very easy to use , if it reads more than 13 volts job done

 

[BJ1]

You have 2 options
Either go out, buy yourself a manual and teach yourself to SERVICE the van, including the engine. It may mean getting your hands dirty :roll: :shock:
OR
Pay a VW specialist huge sums of money to service it for you.

If you simply run the van until it stops (like many people on this site seem to do) you will end up paying even bigger sums of money for a new engine etc.

Simple - huh?

 

[redbus1]

thanks JustJoe - that's actually helpful. will do that.
BJ1 I see elitism is alive and well! If your reply was not sarcastic then apologies but it comes across that way. I have a Haynes, and I have no objection at all in "getting my hands dirty" but that doesn't mean I'm a fully qualified super mechanic. I guess if you broke your arm or leg you'd just buy a book and fix it yourself??? :?

 

[dubs and classics]

are you saying that your van actually stalls when you slow down redbus? or just that the red light comes on at idle?

if the first it could be a number of things, possibly carb icing / settings or points / timing etc, most of which are probably easily sorted with a bit of tinkering. Get the haynes manual out, or better still check out http://www.vw-resource.com/34pict3.html

that link is an excellent source of tech advice and written in an easy to understand way, even i can understand it lol

If you get stuck, post back with a few more details of your van and problems and im sure one of us would be able to help dude.

happy tinkering!

 

[redbus1]

the light comes on and i have to pip the accelerator cos if i don't she may (not always) die on me, then not want to start. She's very rough to start anyway - I have had her serviced recently and the engine is sweet when she's going but it's just this little problem when i need her to idle.