i have questions... lots of questions.
here goes:

Firstly. This photo - is it of an alternator or generator?

Alternator!

spot on Alternator

Marc

I replaced my 14V Huco regulator today (terminal pulled straight out of old one when looking at the wiring! Do'h That'll teach me to play )
Anyhoo... the battery is not charging. Took it to auto elec and he checked the alt/gen (dunno which i have yet) and said it was ok. He shorted two terminals out on it and revving the engine got about 14volts accross the battery. He says there is a wiring fault with it, been wired incorrectly. I cant get him to look at it till monday but i want it fixed NOW ... lol.. so i was wondering if anyone can tell me how the regulator is meant to be wired up?
It has 3 terminals on it. they are marked as "D+" "D-" and "DF"

also my gen warning light wire is not connected to anything at the alt/gen end... it is just hanging. where do i connect it??

thanks... first question answered....

The battery will not charge until the warning light is connected! I discovered this recently: I'd taken my speedo out to rebuild it, and the battery went flat: it was not being charged at all. Apparently the alternator needs the resistance of the warning light to work. Once I put the speedo back and reconnected it's warning light the alternator was able to charge the battery again.

ok... thanks... i had heard that in previous posts... now the ultimate question..

Where does the wire for the warning light connect on the alternator?????????
I have no spare terminals for it... :cry

the (G) bulb in the speedo is connected to power when the ignition is turned on.... the earth is connected to the alternator at D+
the regulator goes between D+ & DF and earth...

You can connect a light bulb -- one wire to the coil + or electromagnetic idling jet on the carby and the other wire to D+... the bulb should light with the ignition ON and go out when the engine is running - ie - alternator charging..
I used this procedure on My Son's Beetle for 6 months...
until I got round to replace the wire from the dash bulb to the Alternator.... I also had found a plug to plug onto the alternator... no more loose wires...

The Alternator has an external regulator gong by your photo and using My {old] eyes....

cheers
Lee Noonan 68AutoBug

ok... i have attached a pic to try and make it easier to explain. At the regulator D- is to the chassis, DF goes to DF on the alternator and D+ goes to one of the D terminals at the alternator. At the alternator the other D terminal goes to the chassis.

On the alternator the D terminals have no
+ or - next to them. What would happen if these were back to front? is it possible? and i still dont get where to put the warning light wire. it is run to the alternator but not connected. should it be on one of the terminals?

As promised, here is a pic of the wiring on my alternator (on a Type 1 1600)

thanks... that is waaaaaay different to mine... mine has 3 terminals on it. looks like i will be back to the autoelec tomorrow. :cussing

hi, hope I can dig up this old thread instead of starting a new one. My '76 has an alternator - last week I noticed the generator light no longer comes on at all. I think the car's no longer charging, the lights are very dim and pressing the accelerator doesn't make them brighter (like it used to). This happened a few days after the reverse lights went intermittently faulty - any ideas? thanks

Check the globe for the warning light.

Regards,

Matt.

I've checked the globe - mine is just like Purple Martin's. the globe holder is getting 12V+ on the outside, just like the oil pressure and indicator lights. I disconnected the warning light's wire at the alternator end and tried to earth it, still it doesn't light up. How is the alternator earthed?

I also notice a 'test box' on the passenger's side of the firwall, wonder if that is any use

thanks

Ok, the globe holder is getting 12v but does the globe itself work? Try swapping it with oil or indicator globes then see if it works in it's new spot.




Regards,

Matt.

I tried that... bugger it turns out to be the wiring that goes through the firewall. I haven't found exactly where but I can move it around and can see the dash light go on/off. still haven't fixed the reverse light either but I think this one will be a big challenge!

hey guys, how do you access the wiring harness through the firewall? I can access it from the left side of the rear seats, and from the engine bay - but my problem is somewhere in between... I think the alternator warning light wire and reverse wires are both disconnected but can't get access to them. I think I can fix both problems by replacing the wires between the interior and the engine bay, can anyone tell me where the reverse wire routes to? thanks

just for the next person who gets these problems - both were fixed today

1. Reverse lights not working was the inline fuse off the ignition coil (I swear the inline fuse wasn't there last time I looked!)

2. Alternator warning light's wire has perished somewhere between the rear passenger area and the engine compartment. I cut the blue alternator light wire and joined a new wire, ran it direclty to the alternator.

Now all is well and I can take her out again