I have noticed recently that when I use my blinkers they have an effect on all other lights sucking a bit of power from headlights and dash guages. When I noticed this I flicked all the lights off and noticed a rise in revs 100-150 rpm. Is this a problem? the car was on a short run and hadn’t come up to temp, but I was wondering if this was normal or showing the start of a problem

I've noticed the dash lights dim in time with the blinker in my kombi, and the voltmeter also fluctuates at the same time. It's never bothered me, I've always assumed it's just due to old copper wires to the dash. I haven't noticed the rev change, I'll see what happens when I drive home tonight.

hey
sounds like a generator/alternator problem! u dont have a bug stereo do ya???
cheers
rhys

nope, just the beautiful sounds of tappets tapping carbies sucking and the genie pumping out the base

Nope - it sounds like an earthing problem.

Some things to check:

1. The battery. Make sure the connections to the battery are good, of course, but also look at where the earth strap meets the chassis. Almost every car can benefit by having this removed, sanding the contact surfaces 'till they're nice and shiny and bolting it back on after applying a very thin smear of vaseline or contact gel.

2. Engine earthing. Check this. It's usually a strap to the tranny. Apply the same method to both ends. If you have high-powered accessories its a good idea to add another strap directly to the engine case from the chassis.

3. The fuse-box. OK, this one's not really earthing, but pulling each connector off and re-inserting it several times can alleviate a number of problems, at least temporarily. If this makes a noticable difference you should plan an afternoon of pulling them off, replacing the connectors (cheap crimping tools are OK, professional type is better,) sanding the lugs with 1000 grit or cloth and reassembling with a good contact lube.

4. The instrument cluster. The speedo, flasher relay and such rely on their contact with the body for grounding. Remove them and clean up contact areas.

Finally, wiring itself can be a bit of a problem in old cars - look for a black discoloration on conductors, it can make a good connection very hard to obtain. Also, if you happen to have a body lift kit, you may need to fabricate an earth strap or so to improve the electrical connection between the body and chassis.

Hope this helps, sorry if it's a bit long. Actually, auto-electrics are my pet-hate: I'd prefer component-level repair on a four-layer double-sided motherboard...

:beer


P.S. Sorry about the edit - the beer messed with my spelling...

[Edited on 1-7-2003 by 70AutoStik]