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Generator idiot light comes on with key, but Not charging still?
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driftman11
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 04, 2017 10:10 pm    Post subject: Generator idiot light comes on with key, but Not charging still? Reply with quote

So today I started my vw thing's engine for first time after re-installing it. I started it today and it ran the battery down and died. My gen. idiot light comes on when the key is turned on. It goes off when running, making me think it was functional. Anybody have any insight on what could cause this?
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74 Thing
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 04, 2017 11:49 pm    Post subject: Re: Generator idiot light comes on with key, but Not charging still? Reply with quote

Did you check the brushes, the wires and wire ends, regulators, is it polarized?

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=337164&highlight=polarizing+generator


Last edited by 74 Thing on Sun Mar 05, 2017 1:08 pm; edited 1 time in total
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driftman11
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 05, 2017 8:51 am    Post subject: Re: Generator idiot light comes on with key, but Not charging still? Reply with quote

alright, so I just tried to polarize the generator. When I touched the power wire, it spun for like 1 second then stopped. now it won't spin anymore by doing this. Does this mean its bad or could something else have happened?
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74 Thing
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 05, 2017 1:10 pm    Post subject: Re: Generator idiot light comes on with key, but Not charging still? Reply with quote

It is either the wiring, reglulator, or generator.

There are lots of tests for the generator (some are here or search thesamba-get your volt meter out)...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjLW_eb3D-c

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUeeuDrIKVQ

Maybe it is time for a rebuild.
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driftman11
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 06, 2017 10:52 am    Post subject: Re: Generator idiot light comes on with key, but Not charging still? Reply with quote

yep. I think it came down to the wiring. while further testing, I noticed the spot where my ground connects to body from battery was throwing sparks, meaning it had bad connection. I cleaned up both the wire and the mounting point, and hooked it back up. did a test run, no sparks and my multimeter showed an increasing voltage at battery once it was running, showing that my generator was indeed charging the battery. within couple minutes it went from 12.6 to 14.3. This seems to be symptoms of a good charging system?
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citroen
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 07, 2017 3:16 pm    Post subject: Re: Generator idiot light comes on with key, but Not charging still? Reply with quote

I always run extra grounds you can't have too many grounds remember you are driving a over 40 year old pile of rust with paint making it look good or not.
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Ron Domeck
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 07, 2017 8:29 pm    Post subject: Re: Generator idiot light comes on with key, but Not charging still? Reply with quote

Are you talking about me putting to much paint on and you have to make new grounds?
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citroen
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 08, 2017 12:07 pm    Post subject: Re: Generator idiot light comes on with key, but Not charging still? Reply with quote

Ron Domeck wrote:
Are you talking about me putting to much paint on and you have to make new grounds?
yes
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