Date:         Fri, 8 Dec 1995 13:41:55 -0700
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         "Michael A. Radtke" <m.radtke@elm.az05.bull.com>
Subject:      RE: Alternator & O2 lights on

Jim & Drew,

I shouldn't have said anything at all, which is what I did after the first 
post when I saw that the problem was complex, even though I misunderstood 
about the lights.

1) Depending on the residual magnetism for your specific
   alternator, it may be quite normal for the ALT and OXS lights to
   remain on after a start until the engine once exceeds about 1000
   rpm.  Some of us see that, others don't.  Both are OK.

2) I re-read your original post.  No, it is not OK for the idiot
   lights to come back on after you are driving.  Unless your
   (Drew's) wife had just started the car, this means a charging
   system failure.

3) Since the idiot lights now go off after the initial time past
   1000 rpm, I would guess that your problem is intermittent and is
   now gone away.  Some clues may be found in the answers to the
   following questions:

   a) Did the idiot lights used to work as I described them?

   b) Do the idiot lights now work as I described them.

It is now time for me to shut up.

Good luck,
Mike