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Schizo charging light
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Gib_Gas
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 21, 2014 5:39 pm    Post subject: Schizo charging light Reply with quote

Within the last 200 miles my alternator light has been fully off, fully on and several degrees of dimness in between; in no particular order.

some info:

The problem started after a big breather or blow by oil leak out of the top of the engine. The alternator was removed, disassembled and cleaned by a mechanic. There was oil everywhere. On the starter as well.

The voltage regulator I replaced about 700 miles ago with a bosch unit for a 79 Bus. I'm not sure how old the alt is but the mechanic bench tested it and was satisfied with the results. Its a 55w bosch.

some numbers:

today i measured the battery static after sitting for a week- about 12.5V

at idle V at the battery was about 13.6

at idle with the headlights on 13.25V at the bat.

during this test the alt light never came on. But of course its been unpredictable.

Its never fully died on me since the oil leak but I have only been doing short trips mostly day time.

its a 79 FI 2L stocker,

Thoughts?
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busdaddy
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 21, 2014 6:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Think of your charge light as a stone age volt/ammeter, it's telling you there's a difference between the voltage right at the alternator output and what's making it all the way up front. If the charge light is glowing there's a bad connetion at the alternator to starter lead-starter-fusebox-ignition switch-fusebox-or idiot light cluster, it's up to you to find the weak connection.
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Gib_Gas
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 21, 2014 6:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

so a good theory may be the oil leak fouled a connection somewhere.

But still, is 13.6 normal/high enough charging at idle at the battery?
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kreemoweet
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 21, 2014 6:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

13.6 volts means the battery is charging, and doing it at the point where alt output is lowest (idle). Sounds good to me!
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Tcash
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 21, 2014 6:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Charging System Tests
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mnskmobi
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 21, 2014 7:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

busdaddy wrote:
Think of your charge light as a stone age volt/ammeter, it's telling you there's a difference between the voltage right at the alternator output and what's making it all the way up front. If the charge light is glowing there's a bad connetion at the alternator to starter lead-starter-fusebox-ignition switch-fusebox-or idiot light cluster, it's up to you to find the weak connection.


I agree. Start by cleaning the battery terminals, the earth/ground connection point from the battery and where the earth strap between the body and the transmission connects and where the main +ve wire from the battery connects to the solenoid. Undo and clean each of these places to bright metal, reconnect and tighten the fittings and coat with anti-corrosive spray. I expect that your idle voltage will be slightly higher and hopefully the alternator problem will be fixed. Cool
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busdaddy
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 21, 2014 9:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Gib_Gas wrote:
so a good theory may be the oil leak fouled a connection somewhere.

A better theory is the oil leak indicated that 35 years of neglect/use/age is catching up and it's time for some maintenance on many of your buses systems Wink
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Gib_Gas
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PostPosted: Wed Oct 22, 2014 4:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

yeah, i pulled the engine and transmission this spring and did several hundred dollars worth of seals and wear parts, shift linkage, gas tank refresh, push rod tube seals, clutch stuff, blah blah. About as much as you would do without pulling the heads. Afterwards, the bus did not leak a drop of oil and compression was good. That was driving around town. The first long trip after the first 75 miles on the highway it started blowing oil out of the crankcase breather/pcv valve. It basically blew out the cork gasket under the breather box. Still not sure if I fixed the problem yet since you cant buy that part. (cork gasket was replaced).

anyway, I am doing quite a bit as far as mechanical upkeep. VR, battery, both ground straps are less than a year old. I have read ratwells page on the testing. Its just since my light is not consistently doing one thing that I figured I would post up. I am convinced I should go around and brighten up all the connections on my alt/bat/ground/starter circuit. It sure did wonders for my fuel pump when that crapped out.

Cheers guys, thanks.
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Banjoben
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PostPosted: Wed Oct 22, 2014 6:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Check the fuse that the charge light runs through. On my 74 it's fuse 11. Mine would randomly come on even though it always read over 13 volts, but I would also lose the fuel gauge and the turn signals. I finally traced it out in the diagram and saw that all those things are on the same fuse. Then I realized if I move the fuse a little, everything started working again. So I took it out, and used a dremel tool to clean up the fuse ends and the contact tabs. it's been just fine since.
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1967250s
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PostPosted: Thu Oct 23, 2014 12:50 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Check that there are no loose connections. Might try the old regulator, too. Easiest to see on the '72 diagram, I think it is the same layout> http://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/info/wiring/bus_8_71_1700.jpg
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