Happened on the way to work...service manuals are at home. I disconnected the battery so I can drive home. With the key "OFF" the GEN light is on full bright, the radio pops and crackles. It's off when the cars runs. Seems to charge fine when car is running.
?? short in the voltage regulator ? or bad wire at the alternator ? i had a somewhat similar problem when i was replacing a water pump . i move the alternator as for to my left as possible . just happened to look at the dash as i walked by the driver'd side & the alternator/gen light was on . i think i may have crimped one of the alternator wires on the plug in . moved the alt a little to my right & alt light light went out .
Could be an open feild in the alternator...but where's the power coming from? Ignition switch? maybe, but the pwer to the radio isn't enough to actually enable you to hear a radio station- it's crackles and pops. I'm going to check the power feed to my radio first, I think. Then disconnect the alternator, then test the regulator. Any other suggestions are appreciated
radio ? u sure that u are not hearing the on & off of a switch , like the points in the voltage regulator ?
Look very closely at the light with the car running. It may be glowing very dimly. If so, bad diodes in the alternator. Also, the alt will charge some with bad diodes, but the current output will be substantially less than what it should be.
thats it on the money-youve got a bad diode inside the alternator. the diodes are a "one way valve" current is only supposed to flow in one direction. the (always) hot wire on the back of your alternator is being allowed to flow through the failed diode and send power out when it shouldnt. you can swap out the entire unit or take it apart and replace the diodes-if it is an internal regulator, not a bad job-if its an external, diodes can be tough to replace in it.
Thanks for the replies. The sound was not the voltage regultor clicking, it was the radio without doubt. The points in the voltage regulator had welded themselves shut- hence the power on with the key off. At least it wasn't a hard fix.
:laugh: I'm glad my newest auto trouble was a learning experience for more than just me! The twist: the RFI condenser on my voltage regulator had a bad wire, that's why the radio was crackling when this happened. Nobody carries the darn things! Eveyone lists it, nobody has one locally I have to order a 2 dollar part:laugh:
I'm having the same problem with my skylark. I just put in a new alt and volt reg. Sometimes in the morning I find the gen light glowing bright, it was out when I parked car the night before. Once I start it and turn off it's fine but will happen every few days. Seems my electrical woes started last year while jump starting a car, blew out my alt and volt reg. Then about once a month I kept blowing volt regs and car would run even after I turned off ignition (not preignition). I would have to step on emergency brake or put on turn signal to shut car off after turning key switch off. Finally it stopped after I changed from kem volt reg. I had even went so far as to replace both under hood wiring harnesses plus the neutral safety switch (was told that that was the ignition switch) on base of column. but problem persisted till like I said I went to a different brand of voltage reg. Now I have new alt and once again kem volt reg and now gen light is glowing when I go out to car in mornings. I stopped by an auto electrical place today and he said it is the ignition switch which is where key switch is and not the switch i changed at base of column. HELP please? What am I missing here?
probs since u smoked the alt & voltage reg , have u also checked all the wires at the starter & solenoid for any damage ? if they are good , then u may very well be looking at replacing the whole keyed ignition switch assembly . your resulting problem is why i refuse do jump starts with my cars . too easy to cause serious damage in new car electronics . and that costs big $$$ . good luck
Re: probs Yup, checked it all out. Solenoid and starter and wire esistance is ok, but I'm replacing the forward wiring harness in the spring anyway- I found some insulation that was so heat-soaked it cracked as I was inspecting it!I think 34 years is an OK lifespan for the forward harness:laugh:
