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Date:         Fri, 29 Mar 1996 10:03:00 -0800 (PST)
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         "Maher, Steve (SD-MS)" <SMAHER@gi.com>
Subject:      Red face (was: Oops, I "fixed" the alternator light)

Well, the master mechanic was at it again, delving deep into the mystery of the alternator that would no longer alternate. I had worked on the instrument cluster of the V6anagon to fix the gas gauge, and founds lots of strange hacks in the wiring of the cluster. Fixed most of same, I though, and lost the alternator light as well as any system voltage over 12V with engine running.

Well, I had also taken the opportunity to tighten the alternator belt. The way an alternator mounts on the Chevy 60-degree V6 with AC (which this engine evidently had but no longer has), gives an excellent place to insert the jack hadle I use to pry the alternator outward to tighten the belt. There's a plug in the way, but it's a quick-release type, easy to pop off and move out of the way of the jack handle.

So I did, and tightened the belt, and snugged the bolt down, and went off to live happily ever after, and, I, uh, well, sorta forgot, to, uh, put the plug back in....

Boy, am I getting tired of writing posts like this. And I'm probably not the only one. :-X

Many thanks to the posters who replied, in several cases giving valuable insight to how the GM alternator works. Makes me wonder if the fancy-dancy high-tech LED the V6anagon has in its dash as an alternator warning lite, instead of the stone-age light bulb Chevys use, is the cause of the alternator's refusal to alternate until the engine is revved way up.

--------------------------------------------------------------------- Steve Maher smaher@gi.com '80 V6anagon w/Chevy 2800 '66 Mustang Coupevertible, for sale

Check out the cars at http://www.lookup.com/homepages/76242/home.html

*** Naah, only an IDIOT would make a mistake that dumb... what? ...huh? Who, me? *** ---------------------------------------------------------------------

BTW, I also re-re-wired the gas gauge, back to the way it should be, so it gets 10V from the voltage stabiliser. Also installed extra redundant connections on both sides, nice and tight, to bridge around any bad connections that might be in there.


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