Hello! My '64 Galaxie has been giving me problems with the battery slowly going dead. I'll charge it, all will be well for a few hours, then the engine will crank slower each time till it won't start. It's been converted to a 1-wire alternator, and, from what I've read, the installation appears to have been done correctly. Pulled the alternator, had it tested, "it's bad". Bought and installed a new one, drove the car for a while, same problem. The "alt" light in the dash does NOT work...per the manual, it should come on when you turn the key to the "run" position, but it does not. Here's the possibly stupid question - Can the blown alt light prevent the car from charging properly? If not, I want to get it working anyway, so I'm going to figure out how to pull the insturment panel on my Galaxie because you CANNOT get at anything from under the dash. Thanks... Chris
Barsteel>>>The "alt" light in the dash does NOT work...per the manual, it should come on when you turn the key to the "run" position, but it does not. Here's the possibly stupid question - Can the blown alt light prevent the car from charging properly?>>> A blown bulb doesn't affect 1-wire operation (***uming a 10si or 12si clone) because it's not used with the alternator's exciter circuit. A 1-wire installation typically needs to be revved a bit to get it charging. In 2 and 3 wire installations, the bulb is usually in parallel with a resistor so if it blows, the exciter circuit still works. Jack E/NJ
Install a voltmeter ( Gage) If you are trying to keep a stock appearance then just hide it some where. Idiot lights are just that useless. You should be running between 13.8 and 14.2 volts with the engine just above a idle. If you are running less voltage when you increase the engine speed then your system is not charging. It is normal when setting at idle with the head lights and a/c etc on for the voltage to drop down around 12 volt but it should pick back up when you increase engine speed. The only stupid ???? is the one you didn't ask, The only way to learn. Too get to the Idiot light, Disconnect the speedometer cable from the back of the instrument panel then take out the 6 screws on the front of the panel, then tip it out. No your Idiot light not working will not will not keep it from charging, When the car was changed over from gen to alt they probably just didn't reconnect the Idiot light wiring.
Not sure if this is true with your setup but it's possible that the bulb is not blown. On most alternator charging systems that I've encountered when the regulator fails the idiot light will not come on in the "on" position. The first thing you need to do (if you haven't already, from your posts it's not clear) is put a volt meter across the battery when it's running to see what you've got. Then it's "charging system 101" from there. Hope this helps Dave
Simple way to tell if it is charging is to out a screw driver on the back side of it where the little cap covers the end of the armature and the bushing. If it is charging it will be magnetized. Way to tell how much it is charging is to put a volt meter on the battery positive to positive and negative to negative. It will show how much it is charging, or you can do the same on the hot post of the alternator and ground to the engine block or whatever. It could be that your battery is no good, they wear out all the time and look just fine. Go to the local auto part store and have them check the battery. And I don't think that your question is stupid.
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