[KULTULZ]

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)

Originally Posted by JimNNN

Thanks for the input, everyone. Okay, here's what I just did for initial diagnosis (beyond the light staying on):

I hooked up the meter to the battery with the car not running,& disconnected - 6.11 volts.

Meter reading with car cold, ( this is when the gen light comes on as engine speed increases, but goes off at normal idle) - right at or just under 6 volts. Voltage does NOT increase or decrease with engine speed.

Took a meter reading again with the car running, but AFTER the car was driven up to hiway speeds (50+ mph) so that the gen light stayed off - 6.78 to 6.8 volts.

I think the voltage should still be higher than this, given that all the components have less that 500 miles on them. I checked the fan belt and I measured the slack at just over 1 inch play in the middle of the belt. I'm told the ideal is 3/4 inch...I don't think that's probably enough to matter, but I'll tighten up the belt when I get a chance.

I'll also clean the contacts as Don suggested, but the regulator is practically brand new...and everything seemed to work fine for the first few months.

You need to (IMO) to measure AMP output @ the GEN and @ the REG output. The VR is mechanical and is adjustable. VR were calibrated at that time to coincide with the GEN rated output (say 30A, 40A, etc).

The BAT must be @ full charge to run a diagnostics sequence.

The drive belt adj is crucial as too loose will not turn the pulley (belt slippage) @ speed and too tight may cause the GEN rear bearing to burn out.

The GEN disadvantage compared to an ALT is not charging sufficiently @ low speed.

You have a SHOP MANUAL?