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Mon May 16, 2005 6:21 am

Assembled and installed a new 1600dp motor into the beetle to get her running again.

Started right up and runs perfectly....sluggish, but that might just be cause it's a fresh build. Or it's just slower than I thought :P

Anyhow, on the Speedo, there's two little lights on the bottom. One is the oil light on the bottom right, and the other on the lower left has a "G" in a little circle. What is that? It's constantly on. I can't remember if it was on when it was running before the motor blew.....

There's a little switch that doesn't work that's for the rear defroster, well, the switch doesn't even move...generator switch? I have no idea what else it could possibly be.....

Anything I should be concerned about?

Mon May 16, 2005 6:23 am

It's the alternator/generator.

Mon May 16, 2005 6:29 am

oicdn wrote: One is the oil light on the bottom right, and the other on the lower left has a "G" in a little circle. What is that? It's constantly on. I can't remember if it was on when it was running before the motor blew....

Like Glenn says, that's your generator / alternator light, and if it's always on it means your battery is not being charged. If you run it like that for very long your battery will go dead.

First make sure your belt is properly installed and tightened. A loose belt can cause your alternator to turn slower than it should and not charge the battery. Also clean and tighten all your connections in the charging circuit. Worse case, you may have to replace the alternator if it no longer puts out enough juice.

Mon May 16, 2005 6:42 am

My belt is tight, so I don't think it's that. But I'll double check. I'll go out there and clean the wire connections on the generator. Although, they didn't look like they had anything that would interfere with the current/connection. The positive wire came off it's generator connector last night when installing the motor, and I had to recrimp it on, so I know atleast the hot wire is crimped good.

What other wires should I check?

Mon May 16, 2005 6:48 am

An easy thing to do if you happen to have a voltmeter... Start the car and check the output voltage of the generator. Rev the engine and see that it goes up some. If it is a little low at idle, don't worry, it can be adjusted a bit by tweaking the voltage regulator if you want. Regulators are cheaper and more failure prone than generators, so I usually start there. I've never replaced a generator, but I've replaced plenty of those regulators.

Mon May 16, 2005 6:50 am

If you have a voltage regulator under the back seat you want to check those wires, as well as the battery connections. I'm not too familiar with all the details although there is a way to check with a voltmeter to see if your generator is putting out the correct amount of juice. One way is to hook up the voltmeter to the two battery terminals and start the car, then watch the voltmeter; I think a healthy generator will put out 14 volts (if it's a 12 volt system).

Mon May 16, 2005 7:07 am

Well, after going out there and fiddling for a bit, it came down to two things.

1. Alternator negative wire didn't have a good connection. The previous owner I guess didn't drimp it good enough, as the crimp connector, one end of the wire just pulled out. Re crimped...light was still on.

2. Went to voltage regulator and checked there.....half of the sliding connectors were loose. I recrimped all those wire and voila, generator light is off....it's sitting out there idling letting the battery recharge...

Thanks a bunch guys!

Mon May 16, 2005 4:46 pm

:D :D

Mon May 16, 2005 8:38 pm

Heh...if it's not one thing...it's another.....the oil light is now on.

It's funny cause it's on, but when I shift into 2nd, it kinda flutters like it's gonna turn off, but doesn't.....but otherwise, it stays lit constant.....

Any clues? God I'm a noob...

Mon May 16, 2005 9:12 pm

The oil light is a little easier. The wire going to the back of the oil light is the ground wire. With no or low oil pressure in the crankcase, the circuit attains ground and your light comes on. Once the pressure builds enough it opens the circuit in the oil pressure switch and the light goes out. It may be the switch. Cheap fix. Although, some people never find the answer. If you have/had an aftermarket oil pressure gauge, you'd know for sure.

Mon May 16, 2005 9:39 pm

The oil light is not a good thing to have on, you should find out why its on before you drive it anywhere and fix it before you drive it agian if possible.

Mon May 16, 2005 9:42 pm

Dazed42 wrote: The oil light is not a good thing to have on, you should find out why its on before you drive it anywhere and fix it before you drive it agian if possible. Ooops. Forgot to mention that :oops: That's how I got my '71 super for a song from the PO. The oil light ground wire broke, light couldn't come on, he burned a rod. Dazed42 is right about not driving it until you know for sure.