Actually it seems pretty simple. Your lights never changed intensity before
because the alternator wasn't putting our a charge level voltage, or very
little above the battery voltage. With the new alternator, you can now see
the difference between no change and real charge. This is a good thing.
Don't fret it. It is normal and mine does it too if you let the idle voltage
drop.
Vic Whitmore
76 Spitfire
Thornhill, Ontario
Mark Gardner wrote:
> Hi all - I bought a '79 spit last April and have put about 4500 almost
> trouble free miles on it since then. The little red "ignition" light
> never worked, but the car always started and ran fine so I felt there
> was no problem with the charging system. As winter approached and it
> grew darker and colder, I began driving more with the lights and fan
> booster on. One morning the battery was very flat and wouldn't start
> the car. A voltmeter showed system running voltage at less than 13. I
> hunted around a little and found the small wire at the alternator
> broken. When I repaired the wire the car didn't charge any better, but
> the red light now worked. It also never went out. It got verrrrry dim,
> but never completely went out.
>
> While I was trying to decide what to do next, I accidently tried to
> start the car without depressing the clutch. The car lurched forward
> and everything died. Not even a click from the key. Closer examination
> showed very feeble illumination from the lights. I got a jump and the
> car started and ran, but not under about 1500 RPM. I nursed the car
> home, with the lights fading and returning the whole way, never actually
> going out. The car never quit (I did turn up the idle a little).
>
> A 12 hour charge and s.g. test on the battery showed it to be shot, so I
> bought a new one. But of course, charging voltage was still low. I
> bought a rebuilt alternator and installed it. This seemed to fix
> everything. The red light now goes out crisply almost immediately after
> start, and the voltage is more like 14 (and higher when the car is
> running than when it isn't).
>
> The problem is, the lights still vary in intensity when I drive the car
> - something they never did before my start-the-car-in-gear goof. I
> can't imagine what the relationship could be. Is there a fusable link
> somewhere that I damaged? I plan on hooking up a voltmeter to the
> lights, look at the voltage when they dim, and move back to the battery
> until I identify where I'm losing voltage to the lihgts. This promises
> to be very laborious, as I can only really see the lights fading when
> it's dark out, and then I can't see the voltmeter. Any other comments
> suggestions?
>
> Thanks in advance,
>
> Mark Gardner
|