Glowing Battery Light on Ignition - Resolved

[300CE]

I thought i'd post this up here as it may save someone laying out the reddies for a new alternator. Basically, the battery light on the dash didn't come on with the ignition, instead it was glowing really dimly (so much that you had to cover it with your hand to see it). The light did not get brighter with revs indicating that it could be a wiring issue rather than a charging problem.

My mate tested with a multimeter and it was showing 12.7v with the engine off and 14.3v with the engine running so it was charging ok, but it was only sending a small voltage to the light (can't remember what it was now!). The alternator was stripped down and we found the problem. A piece of solder had come away from the connector, so it was re-soldered and the jobs a good un' - light now works and goes off as it should:

Here's a picture of the menace piece - it was the little gold bit that had come away from the larger piece:

[California Dreamin]

Excellent stuff....that all looks new, so was it a new alternator?

Martin

[300CE]

Excellent stuff....that all looks new, so was it a new alternator?

Martin

Hi Martin, yep, the alternator was pretty new (was already on the vehicle when I bought it), but I think it may have become dislodged when we were swapping everything over to the recon engine as it was fine previously. The regulator was also changed as a matter of course so I've kept the other as a spare