Hey y'all, got a technical question for ya. A week ago, when
it was raining pretty hard in California, my ignition warning
light went on. After spending 10 minutes under the bonnet,
playing with wires like I knew what I was doing, I could not
find something obviously wrong. At that point I was drenched
to the bone so I just got back into the B and kept on going.
I figured that since the headlights hadn't dimmed even a bit,
the alternator must have been working at least a little...
Anyway, my B got me home nevertheless... in fact she has got
me home everyday since then as if nothing is wrong. However,
the ignition warning light has stayed on, although under non-idle
conditions the light is only bright enough to see at night.
It does get brighter during idle. To add to the mystery, the 6-amp
fuse on my alarm kept on blowing during the week before the ignition
light first stayed on permanently...
Does anyone have a guess as to what is happening? Is there a way
to test the alternator to see if it is working 100%? Can someone
explain to me how the ignition idiot light works? I studied the
electrical schematic, and it seems that the light is simply connected
to the voltage regulator (which is integrated into this particular
alternator) and the ignition. I suppose the light goes on when there
is a voltage differential between the ignition and the voltage regulator?
Again, the car/electrical accessories have been working as usual so
I am perplexed!
-Felix
__________________________________________________________________
__ Felix Wong Palo Alto, California
|,\_O (415)528-9768 [pager]
( )/ LL http://www-leland.stanford.edu/~felixksw/
( ) '69 B, '92 C'dale 3.0 R (stiff, light, and FAST)
Fw = mg "Safety fast!"
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