Thanks to all who = responded to my questions about whether my alternator was beginning to = fail (see below). The responses I received all included phrases like = "this is normal", "You can safely ignore this = problem", and "This is called 'normal operation'". = Taking your unanimous advice, I ignored the light and headed south for = the weekend...

Well, on Sunday at = about 5 PM my alternator light came on while driving north on I 91 near = New Haven, CT. As I was still 4 hours from home, this posed a bit of a = problem. My van was also completely packed with stuff, so there was no = room to sleep even if I did find a likely repair shop/parts store = somewhere to camp out at. So after $54 for a Motel Six room, a morning = of calling repair shops who couldn't get to me until Wednesday, $52 for = a new voltage regulator, $40 to install it, the better part of a day = wandering around some suburban shopping mall-ridden hell with my = slightly frazzled dog - and a day off from work that I couldn't spare = -  I made it back home.

So I think the moral = of the story might is that while your alternator light coming on like I = described (below) might be "normal operation"... it also = might not.

Doug = Fitz-Randolph
Yarmouth, ME
dfrandolph@talkam.net
'90 Syncro

original = message:
Similar to Greg = Hamburg, my battery/alternator light stays on when I start the engine = of my '90 syncro. (Not the OXS light, though.)  When I first step = on the gas, the light goes off and stays off until the next time I = start the engine.  The light will not go off unless I rev the = engine slightly - I've waited for about a minute. This started = happening about a week after I replaced my instrument cluster with one = from an '88 (or perhaps '89) with a tachometer, which my = "non-GL" didn't have. The new panel also added an OXS light, = which I also didn't have before. I'm making the following = assumptions...

1) That the alt/bat = light starting to come on until I first step on the gas coinciding with = the new instrument panel install is just that - pure = coincidence.

2) That the light = coming on is an early warning sign that my alternator is beginning to = fail.

I'm planning to take = a long drive this weekend, and I'm wondering if I should pick up an = alternator just in case - or even replace mine altogether - before = departing. Also, if I don't have to replace the alternator in an = emergency situation, I wonder if anyone can point me to a good source = of info about testing/rebuilding alternators. I've seen the replacement = brushes/bearings at Bus Depot, and that seems like a far more = economical way to go if it will fix the problem.

dfrandolph@talkam.net