Date: Wed, 22 Jan 2003 10:38:55 -0800
Reply-To: gary hradek <hradek@YAHOO.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: gary hradek <hradek@YAHOO.COM>
Subject: Re: OX and charge lights on
In-Reply-To: <BA5415E6.1B9B%mwmiller@cwnet.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Mike,
This is my read on what is going on. Your foil
is as good or bad as my foil which is a poorly
designed piece of the instrument cluster. You might
be able to mess with the foil to get your alternator
light to work but I would not mess with it as you
might create addition problems as the foil is brittle
with age. The O2 light is giving you all the
information that the alternator light should be giving
you which to me suggest that you are on the senior
side of the alternator. The o2 light which is now
performing like a alternator light should turn off as
soon as you speed the engine up, not 10-15 second
after. This suggest that your brushes are worn down
so that they are making poor contact and takes some
time to rub hard enough against the moving part of the
alternator to generate the 12.6 volts required to turn
the light off. You can go some times this way.
What may happen next is you may notice the 02 light
may start to glow dimly as you are at an idle. Next
it may get brighter and dim in cycles. At some point
it may stay on all the time. In my case the 02 light
came on and the alternator light which had been dead
for years also finally turned on. You also may
notice during this progressive alzhiemers of the
alternator that the battery does not seem quite as
robust. There is little chance you will every
overcharge the battery with this system. If you have
a westy with the light indicator on the stove use that
to track the state of your battery. If it goes green
to yellow rather quickly, you know that you are not
really charging it very fully. Also carry battery
cables and remember that if the alternator fails you
can always recharge the battery from another vehicle
to get a few miles further down the road. If it is
cold and you avoid using the heater blower and lights
you can make it quite a ways. After the replaced my
alternator my alternator light began working again.
They had to mess with that foil to get the thing to
charge right. David explained that there is a
circuit that send voltage back to the alternator from
the instrument cluster to cause the alternator to
charge. many full charges to you, gary
--- Mike Miller <mwmiller@cwnet.com> wrote:
> Output is fine. Every once in a while the charge
> light will come on with
> key on, engine not running. Not consistent in
> anything it does.
>
> Mike
>
> On 1/22/03 8:10 AM, "gary hradek" <hradek@yahoo.com>
> wrote:
>
> > Mike,
> > When you say the charge light never comes on any
> > more do you really mean never? even when the key
> is
> > in the on position and the motor is not running?
> > Have you measured the voltage output? How old is
> the
> > alternator? gary
> > --- Mike Miller <mwmiller@cwnet.com> wrote:
> >> Charge light never comes on any more. Revving
> seems
> >> to put out the O2 light
> >> but that's what happens after 10-15 seconds
> anyway,
> >> I drive away.
> >>
> >> Mike
> >>
> >> On 1/21/03 1:03 PM, "gary hradek"
> <hradek@yahoo.com>
> >> wrote:
> >>
> >>> Mike,
> >>> Does the o2 light off if you speed the engine
> up
> >>> before the 10-15 seconds? Do both the 02 light
> >> and
> >>> alternator light come on if you turn the key but
> >> do
> >>> not start the van? gary
> >>> --- Mike Miller <mwmiller@cwnet.com> wrote:
> >>>> Oh. Thanks. O2 light is coming on at start
> and
> >>>> going off after 10-15
> >>>> seconds, battery light is not coming on at all?
> >>>>
> >>>> Mike
> >>>>
> >>>> The Sacramento gizzard
> >>>>
> >>>> On 1/21/03 12:17 PM, "gary hradek"
> >>>> <hradek@yahoo.com> wrote:
> >>>>
> >>>>> Mike,
> >>>>> The 02 light acts as sort of a backup light
> >> for
> >>>>> the alternator light. It does little for the
> >> 02
> >>>>> sensor but act like a counter, turning on
> after
> >> a
> >>>>> certain number of miles and staying on. If
> >> both
> >>>> the
> >>>>> alternator light and o2 light come on or
> flicker
> >>>> on
> >>>>> and off together this indicates a charging
> >> problem
> >>>> or
> >>>>> something wrong with that circuit. If only
> >> your
> >>>> o2
> >>>>> light comes on and stays on you need to reset
> >> the
> >>>>> light with the counter box near the spare
> tire.
> >>>> This
> >>>>> is a bit understated as to actual function.
> >>>> David
> >>>>> the east coast electrical wizard has a more
> >>>> refined
> >>>>> explanation. I am just the west coast
> >> electrical
> >>>>> lizard, davids long lost cousin, gary
> >>>>> --- Mike Miller <mwmiller@cwnet.com> wrote:
> >>>>>> I thought the O2 and charge lights were
> >>>> different?
> >>>>>> I have an '85 if that
> >>>>>> makes a difference.
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> Mike
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> On 1/21/03 10:36 AM, "gary hradek"
> >>>>>> <hradek@YAHOO.COM> wrote:
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>>> Joe,
> >>>>>>> I think this is all about money and time
> and
> >>>>>> which
> >>>>>>> you have more of. In my case I too was
> >> puzzled
> >>>>>> by an
> >>>>>>> alternator that was still working with a bad
> >>>>>> whine.
> >>>>>>> Trust me when I say that it is whining to be
> >>>>>> replaced.
> >>>>>>> If you choose to replace the bearing this
> >> could
> >>>>>> work.
> >>>>>>> By the time you get to the 02 light coming
> on
> >>>> and
> >>>>>> off
> >>>>>>> you are living on borrowed time. You are
> >>>>>> basically
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>
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