Those bulbs may not be that accurate. I.e. If battery voltage drops to 12.9 volts, this could cause the Orange light to light up. Not saying that 12.9 volts is the actual value. If charging the battery with a battery charger keeps the green light on for a longer period, (engine off, charger disconnected) either your trips are short and few (alternator not spinning long enough to charge battery) or, there's an issue with the behicles charging system and or battery. It could be a matter of all 3. When light is yellow, engine running, and the headlights are the only accessory being used, this could be due to several things. Much has been said here of poor grounds in headlight circuits. However. The stock headlights don't draw that many Amps. As with above try charging the battery. See if that makes a difference. The Bentley manual should show the procedure for checking alternator voltage output. Basically, you set your VOM correctly, put the negative probe to a clean ground ( negative) in engine bay and positive to red wire(s) at alternator. Measure voltage engine off, engine on, engine on with headlights on. On Wednesday, October 8, 2014, Jeff Palmer <jpalmer@mymts.net> wrote: > Funny question. 85 Westfalia, automatic, original starter and > alternator. My kid flicked the battery indicator switch on a few weeks ago > and i've been watching it. Generally it only hits green when the engine is > running. At rest it's yellow. When the engine is running, and the > headlights are turned on, I'm down to yellow. Normal? Or problem with the > indicator? Or charging problem? > > Thanks > Jeff >
-- Neil n Blog: tubaneil.blogspot.ca '88 Westy http://tinyurl.com/c8rlw6p '81 VanaJetta 2.0 "Jaco" http://tubaneil.googlepages.com/ Vanagon VAG *Gas* inline-VR Engine Swap Group: |
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