Is the alt. light giving me a false sense of security?

[Starless]

Am i correct in believing that if the alt./fan belt breaks, the alt. light will (or should) come on in the dash? Or have I been fooling myself? Does it come on it time to prevent any damage to the engine due to overheating?

[Bill Douglas]

When mine broke it thrashed itself to death in the engine bay so i heard that as well as saw the alt' light

[autobonrun]

Assuming the light is not burned out, it will immediately come on because the output of the alternator will immediately go to zero when the belt breaks. You will then have a voltage differential between the alternator output and the 12v at the battery causing the light to glow.

As a test, just make sure when you turn your ignition on, that the oil pressure light and alternator light come on. I tend to check these as a matter of course before I crank the engine the first time.

[Gunter]

When the belt breaks, the Alt. light, plus OX light, plus break light will come on. In other words, the same lights that come on when you turn the key to ignition will come on when the belt (or the alternator/regulator) fails. (The oil light is the exception) When the lights come on (Electrical failure), but the belt is o.k., you can drive on a good battery for quite a while in the daytime with all electrical extras off. I think that oil pressure is more important and the the green oil warning light should be red. I wired up a visible red oil warning light in parallel with the green for peace of mind because it's impossible to check the pressure every minute.