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
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