charger indicator

[Antileon]

My charge indicator flickers a little after start and goes out after 2 minutes. ( longer than I expected ) Is this normal ? Battery is 13.4 v., connections are good, main ground is fine,. belt seems tight enough.
Thanks

[PJ Grady Inc.]

My charge indicator flickers a little after start and goes out after 2 minutes. ( longer than I expected ) Is this normal ? Battery is 13.4 v., connections are good, main ground is fine,. belt seems tight enough.
Thanks

This is an early indicator that your alternator is about to fail. Probably a bad diode or other internal problem. It can only get worse with time. Start shopping now!
Rob

[Antileon]

This is an early indicator that your alternator is about to fail. Probably a bad diode or other internal problem. It can only get worse with time. Start shopping now!
Rob

Can it be reconditioned ? Its a Motorola - cannot see the model no.

[sdg3205]

Can it be reconditioned ? Its a Motorola - cannot see the model no.

Yes it can. I have found reconditioning is hit and miss. Then again, so was DMCH's 140 amp model (mine died with less than 100 miles on it and I had to pay a local shop to rebuild it).

[PJ Grady Inc.]

Can it be reconditioned ? Its a Motorola - cannot see the model no.

I have an excellent rebuilder that I work with and can make them look like NOS but it is less expensive to install a new Delco unit unless you want to keep it original.
Rob

[Antileon]

I have an excellent rebuilder that I work with and can make them look like NOS but it is less expensive to install a new Delco unit unless you want to keep it original.
Rob

Any of you know the Motorola model number, so I can start looking for a replacement locally ?. US postage is a killer
Thanks guys

[David T]

Check the belt tension. Unusual behavior like that is generally an indicator of a problem. It is possible it is just a bad regulator but the brushes are probably near being worn out, the bearings are old and tired, and it just doesn't pay to patch up an old alternator. For what it costs to rebuild it is usually faster and cheaper to just replace it with a better one. Also make sure all of the wiring connections are tight and none of them are rubbing anywhere or getting burnt on a hot pipe.

[PJ Grady Inc.]

Check the belt tension. Unusual behavior like that is generally an indicator of a problem. It is possible it is just a bad regulator but the brushes are probably near being worn out, the bearings are old and tired, and it just doesn't pay to patch up an old alternator. For what it costs to rebuild it is usually faster and cheaper to just replace it with a better one. Also make sure all of the wiring connections are tight and none of them are rubbing anywhere or getting burnt on a hot pipe.

While it is always advisable to check the belt tension I have never seen a loose belt cause the idiot lamp to trip. A diode issue is the common cause of a lamp on condition FWIW.
Rob

[David T]

While it is always advisable to check the belt tension I have never seen a loose belt cause the idiot lamp to trip. A diode issue is the common cause of a lamp on condition FWIW.
Rob

Well, maybe while looking at the belt you might see a smoking mess where the alternator used to be. Or maybe some wires hanging or maybe no belt at all! It is a good place to start. All too often an owner doesn't think of looking for the obvious. At least he notices the idiot light! Hopefully BEFORE he overheats because the belt is no longer there and it also runs the water pump!

[Antileon]

Checked all wiring and its very clean and solid. The charge indicator still takes about 30 sec. to go off, but at 2000 rpm, I get 14.4v on my voltmeter direct on battery, so it is surely charging. Also load tested battery out of car, and it is fine. Is there any other reason for the slow charge indicator or is it just something that I should live with, or do I have a limping alternator ?
Thanks guys and happy new year

[Ron]

Sounds like the voltage regulator or the brushes are bad to me...

Take it off and have a local auto parts load test it (free).

[PJ Grady Inc.]

Checked all wiring and its very clean and solid. The charge indicator still takes about 30 sec. to go off, but at 2000 rpm, I get 14.4v on my voltmeter direct on battery, so it is surely charging. Also load tested battery out of car, and it is fine. Is there any other reason for the slow charge indicator or is it just something that I should live with, or do I have a limping alternator ?
Thanks guys and happy new year

Once the light starts coming on it won't fix itself. There is an internal diode problem that will sooner or later cause it to discharge and fail....usually after getting it wet. If you wash the car or drive in the rain it is likely to finish it off so it's living on borrowed time. Think about rebuilding or replacing as soon as is practical.
Rob

[mluder]

Jumping in to this one with a sort of similar question...

I installed a new alternator from DMC a couple years ago or so. I just replaced my battery this week as the old one was didn't seem to be charging completely and even failing a load test at the battery store.
When I got the new one in I noticed the volt gauge on the dash was still reading a little low. I checked voltage at idle at bot the battery and directly off the alternator and only pulled about 13.0-14.0 volts. Even at about 2000 RPMs it didn't hit 14.4.

So, I'm not worried about being stranded as my battery is getting recharged... However is the fact that the alternator isn't putting out 14.4 something to be concerned about? Can it do damage to the new battery?

Cheers
Steve

[Antileon]

Once the light starts coming on it won't fix itself. There is an internal diode problem that will sooner or later cause it to discharge and fail....usually after getting it wet. If you wash the car or drive in the rain it is likely to finish it off so it's living on borrowed time. Think about rebuilding or replacing as soon as is practical.
Rob

Not certain that I understand you when you say - "light coming on" - - my charge light is coming on when starting the engine, but it has a 30 sec. delay before it goes out.

[PJ Grady Inc.]

Not certain that I understand you when you say - "light coming on" - - my charge light is coming on when starting the engine, but it has a 30 sec. delay before it goes out.

Once the "idiot" light stays on longer than a second or two it essentially becomes a warning light telling you that the alternator is in failure mode. The fact that it eventually goes out means you're in the early stage of failure which can progress to an outright failure at any time without further warning. Consider yourself warned;)! Your alternator is guaranteed to fail fairly soon if you continue to drive this way. Pray for sunny weather.
Rob

[Antileon]

Once the "idiot" light stays on longer than a second or two it essentially becomes a warning light telling you that the alternator is in failure mode. The fact that it eventually goes out means you're in the early stage of failure which can progress to an outright failure at any time without further warning. Consider yourself warned;)! Your alternator is guaranteed to fail fairly soon if you continue to drive this way. Pray for sunny weather.
Rob

Finally understand, thanks
"the idiot"

[PJ Grady Inc.]

Finally understand, thanks
"the idiot"

Don't be so hard on yourself. Everyone gets a turn to be "the idiot" soon enough!
Rob

[PJ Grady Inc.]

Jumping in to this one with a sort of similar question...

I installed a new alternator from DMC a couple years ago or so. I just replaced my battery this week as the old one was didn't seem to be charging completely and even failing a load test at the battery store.
When I got the new one in I noticed the volt gauge on the dash was still reading a little low. I checked voltage at idle at bot the battery and directly off the alternator and only pulled about 13.0-14.0 volts. Even at about 2000 RPMs it didn't hit 14.4.

So, I'm not worried about being stranded as my battery is getting recharged... However is the fact that the alternator isn't putting out 14.4 something to be concerned about? Can it do damage to the new battery?

Cheers
Steve
No.

[PJ Grady Inc.]

Hey I just noticed something odd. Can anybody tell me why my post count has stayed at 781 since at least last January (that's as far back as I looked)? Just look at my posts on this thread alone and you can see what I mean. How at this rate will I ever catch David Teitelbaum as the most voluminous DMCTalker of all time? I suspect the fix is in! Administrator's please help help me out here.
Rob

P.S. Even stranger now they all say 782. It's like "Groundhog Day" around here!

[Ron]

You should check your voltage at the battery. The exact voltage to expect depends on the type of alternator/regulator installed. Once the alternator has had a chance to build the battery back up after starting, most should be 14v +/- .20v at idle, no load.
fwiw- Many of the D replacement units are Delco based. 14.2v is most common, with many being lower due to incorrect pulley size (especially early units). If equipped, moving the sense wire 'closer' to the battery(+) terminal will raise the output voltage (must not exceed regulators rating checked at the alternator).

[dodint]

Can anybody tell me why my post count has stayed at 781 since at least last January (that's as far back as I looked)?
P.S. Even stranger now they all say 782. It's like "Groundhog Day" around here!

vBulletin boards render the current post count for a user regardless of which post you're viewing. The database that stores all the user/thread/post data for the whole board updates every time someone posts something, including the content and the number of posts, etc. When you open a thread as a user, the page is rendering by calling that data from the database and presenting it to you in the form of whatever is current to the database. So if you go back and look at your very first post, it's still going to be the latest post count, location, VIN, user title, etc.

Basically, user details are not archival like the content of the post. It's rendered as called from the database at the moment a user views a thread.

[Ron]

Hey I just noticed something odd. Can anybody tell me why my post count has stayed at 781 since at least last January (that's as far back as I looked)? Just look at my posts on this thread alone and you can see what I mean. How at this rate will I ever catch David Teitelbaum as the most voluminous DMCTalker of all time? I suspect the fix is in! Administrator's please help help me out here.
Rob

P.S. Even stranger now they all say 782. It's like "Groundhog Day" around here!No...it's OK...
You are viewing your post count (ie total posts, since .org...), not an individual post's number....

EDIT: beat me to it lol

[PJ Grady Inc.]

No...it's OK...
You are viewing your post count (ie total posts, since .org...), not an individual post's number....

EDIT: beat me to it lol

See Antileone....I said everyone gets a chance to be "The idiot". I just didn't think my chance would come that quickly:)!