Dash Alternator warning light ?

[lance]

Hi all again
A question on the dash of a LB- LC hatch .
I know the car has a amp meter but does it also have a warning light ?
The only reason i ask this is the car has had a replacement alternator in its life.
The new alternator has its own regulator built in, so to make it work there has been some wiring changers.
One of which is a globe beside the alternator which glows on ignition .
Why dosnt it go up into the dash?

Mark

[davetrees]

The globe will be there to put a small load on the alternator to "trigger" it. Alternator won't work without it.

Personally, I would lengthen the wires & mount the light on the dash ..... ammeters are not an overly useful gauge IMHO (big amp loads going through them, with potential for major electrical failure). I would ditch the ammeter & replace it with a voltmeter + charge warning light.

[digihed]

That explains the light bulb under my bonnet that has been puzzling me for yonks! My ammeter hasn't worked in the entire 22 years I've had the LC, and I finally got another one a week ago and now you tell me I should get something else Damn!

[BlueThunder]

That explains the light bulb under my bonnet that has been puzzling me for yonks! My ammeter hasn't worked in the entire 22 years I've had the LC, and I finally got another one a week ago and now you tell me I should get something else Damn!

If the ammeter doesn't work it might be interesting to check the fuses in the wires. They can have some corrosion on the contacts. I've cleaned mine and the ammeter works again. The needle doesn't move much which is normal i think.

As for the CHARGE-light, the workshop manual I have (1976 Mitsubishi Celeste) says:

"The charging indicator lamp goes off when the voltage at the N terminal of the alternator exceeds 4.2 to 5.2V (8.4 to 10.4V at A terminal). Note that the lamp is operated regardless of battery charging or discharging.
Note: If turning the ignition switch to ON turns on the indicator lamp, or if the lamp goes on while the engine is in operation, a shorted or open diode of the alternator is the possible cause."

Hope this helps...

[davetrees]

now you tell me I should get something else Damn!

I'm not telling you to do anything mate ... just saying what I would do.

A voltmeter (IMHO) gives you more useful info, ie. how much charge is in the battery. A charge/alternator light will tell you if the alternator has stopped working (whether due to an electrical problem or the fanbelt slipping/breaking).

They are the only 2 things I need to know - I don't want/need to know how many amps I am drawing .....

[aussiblue]

big amp loads going through them, with potential for major electrical failure).

Not in the LB/LC as the factory ammeter is of the shunt resistance type with only 1/13th of indicated current flowing through the meter. Nonetheless I agree that voltmeters are generally safer and molre reliable.

[aussiblue]

PS the factory manual also warns you that in testing the OEM ammeter not to let more than 1 amp in current pass through it indicating the shunt resistor is externa; to the meter somewhere in the wiringh harness. I have never been able find a seperate shunt resistir on the circuit or wiring diagrams so suspect the fusible link at the battery end of the ammeter circuit is also the shunt resistor.

[BlueThunder]

PS the factory manual also warns you that in testing the OEM ammeter not to let more than 1 amp in current pass through it indicating the shunt resistor is externa; to the meter somewhere in the wiringh harness. I have never been able find a seperate shunt resistir on the circuit or wiring diagrams so suspect the fusible link at the battery end of the ammeter circuit is also the shunt resistor.

I was thinking that the length/material of the wires or the fuses where the shunt resistor... I also didn't find a seperate resistor in the wiring when I checked it (I pulled out the wires I needed out of a wire loom of a scrapped Celeste to serve in mine so I was able to follow the entire wire from beginning till end...)