Date:         Tue, 6 Jan 2004 23:29:27 -0500
Reply-To:     Stephen Steele <steeles@HORIZONVIEW.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Stephen Steele <steeles@HORIZONVIEW.NET>
Subject:      Re: Flickering alternator light at higher RPM's
Comments: To: John Meeks <jmeeks@gaslightmedia.com>
In-Reply-To:  <EPEEKBHLDHEJEPOJGFBHGENEDOAA.jmeeks@gaslightmedia.com>
Content-type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"

on 1/6/04 22:13, John Meeks at jmeeks@GASLIGHTMEDIA.COM wrote:
> On my way home tonight, my alt light suddenly came on and flickered
> steadily. By the time I got home, it was just on no flicker. But the light
> went off at idle. I figure it's my regulator/brushes. They only have 3 years
> of use, so I wondered if the weather could have any effect on the
> alternator's performance. It was +7F with a -30F wind chill with heavy
> almost blizzard snow in 35 mph gusts.
> Am I wacky or could this be a factor?
John:
I know it's cold out, but did you pop the back lid and check the condition
of your alt drive belt?
Here's a hypothesis: At speeds in your weather the belt may slip if worn or
misadjusted; at idle, following a drive, the ambient temps can climb in the
engine compartment. The belt may dry off/heat up a little and regain the
necessary friction to drive the pulley properly.
It may be worth looking at before you go to the trouble of checking the
alternator's output.
--
Stephen
Chillicothe OH