[TR] TR4 generator light on

[Randall]

> The red light
> stayed on the whole time, even after turning off the car and 
> starting again, twice.

Obviously, you have pissed off the spirit of Lucas!  Bright dash lights
indeed!

Seriously, it's most likely coincidence.  I would proceed to troubleshoot
the charging system ignoring the change to the dash lights.

First step, repolarize the generator.  Not likely to be the problem, but
easy enough to do.  One way is to disconnect the wire from the 'F' terminal
at the regulator, and brush it against the 'A' or 'A1' terminals.  Reconnect
and retest.

My next step would be to remove the wires from the 'F' and 'D' terminals,
and join them together with a voltmeter (or DMM) to ground.  Start the
engine, and rev it up just a little bit (fast idle) while watching the
voltmeter.  With a healthy generator, it should rise quickly to 15v or more
(book notes to not let it go over 20 volts).  If so, the problem is the
control box, or the wiring to it.

If not, repeat the test by removing the wires from the generator and joining
the two terminals together directly.  If you still don't get charging
voltage, the generator is sick.

I've got a PDF of a Lucas booklet giving blow-by-blow testing procedures;
let me know if you'd like a copy.

Randall