Last Monday I drove Mrs Squirrel and me to the airport. It was at 5 am, plenty dark, and I noticed that the dash and headlights were brightening and dimming, just perceptively, and very regularly, with a period of slightly over a second We returned from the airport last night, in the dark, and I noticed the same thing. Just enough of a voltage variation to cause the lights to dim and brighten to be noticed. I first thought it was in sync with the second hand on the clock (84, 1.9L) but they drifted apart after about ten seconds -- so it has a period of about 1.1 seconds and it is very regular. I have a voltmeter shoved into the cigar lighter socket but it's of the digital variety and is useless for tracking brief events like this. I no blinkers were on that would have sucked power on a cyclical basis. I may have to get an analog meter and connect it to various bits in the van to find where the voltage swing is highest. Anyone got a working Simpson 280? Before I dig deeper into this, can anyone tell me if this sounds like an alternator voltage regulator thing? It does not vary with engine rpm.
-- Mike "Rocket J Squirrel" Elliott 84 Westfalia: Mellow Yellow ("The Electrical Banana") 74 Westrailia: (Ladybug Trailer company, San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) Bend, OR KG6RCR |
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