The Electrical Gremlins attacked with full force today.

[Rodney Nelson]

I was driving to dinner tonight and I gave my car a little bit of gas and I heard terrible pinging. I looked out the review mirror and I saw a cloud of smoke, when I let off the gas the pinging stoped and so did the smoke.

I then looked down at the gauges and my O2 light and Battery light were on.

When I came back home the car seemed to be driving fine, however I did not give it even a little bit of gas because I did not want it to ping again. The battery light and O2 light were still on. Then my Tach started reading 5K then nothing, it had a mind of its own.

I got it into the garage and let the car idle for a second it droped down to 900 rpms then it kicked up to about 1500 rpms. I then turned it off and I opened the engine compartment and I could smell and electrical burning smell.

Were should I start looking?

My car is and '82 SC with the O2 sensor disconnected, with no mods mechanically.

[Porsche_monkey]

The used Porsche classifieds.

Seriously, maybe a wire harness inspection? Sounds like something melted causing a couple of problems.

Also, measure your alternator output voltage, that will tell you if you have a problem with the indicator light vs a real alternator problem.

[Rodney Nelson]

I don't think it is an alternator problem because I think with the pinging somehow I got a different air fuel mixture. Plus the O2 sensor came on as well.

Would the alternator have an electrical burning smell if it went bad?

[Paulporsche]

Do a litle sniffing and try to locate the source of the burn smell.

[Porsche_monkey]

But your o2 is disconnected, so I suspect a harness problem possibly feeding the DME.

Are you sure the pinging is related?

Yes, a toasted alternator can smell, measyure the output voltage first. It's easy and it will tell if there is a problem.

[indigowhale]

Get a voltemeter and measure battery voltage when car is running. If should be no more that around 14.5 (tops). Your spike in the tach may indicate a bad voltage regulator and this is 3 minute test could rule that out.

Also, turn your headlights on and look for a flicker, it is another crude simple way to look for irregular high voltage.

[konish]

what type of ignition box are you running? with the idiot lights, it doesn't seem to make sense that it could be the ignition box, but I'm not looking at a wiring diagram either. All I know is when my Permatune went bad it did all sorts of crazy stuff...

R/
Dustin

[indigowhale]

Oh, and another thing, the burning smell could be your battery boiling from too much voltage, so don't go setting any sparks off near it. The gas is explosive and has a very distinct odor.

[Rodney Nelson]

Okay,

Unfortunately, I am at work right now. Thank you for all of your inputs. I will be checking it out tonight.

I am running a stock ignition box.

The reason I think the pinging is releated is because it never did that before and since the O2 light came on I was thinking maybe somehow my mixture was changed?

I should have sniffed around some more. I hope it still smells when I get home.

I am interested in checking the voltage regulator and the alternator. Could you guys please elaborate on how to check the alternator voltage and regulator.

I have my trusty volt meter ready

[Porsche_monkey]

Negative lead on the battery -ve terminal, +ve lead on the other (red)terminal. Meter on the 'dc volts' scale.

Check voltage with the key out, then with the engine idling. Post the two numbers here.

[Rodney Nelson]

I got home today and tried to see if I could find any loose wires or anything evident and I didn't.

I turned the car over and it was running pretty rich even after it warmed up for a while.

I then shut it off and came inside and got my volt meter.

I then measured the voltage as PBH said with the key out and I got 10.45 - 11.01 Volts. Then I went to turn on the car and nothing. It would not even crank. All of my assecories came on with no problem?

Now what????????

If the O2 light is on what does that mean???????

My car has an optima battery that is only 1.5 years old and it seems pretty strong.

I have the factory CDI unit and I am running the Blue coil. Nothing else fancy.

[john walker's workshop]

when the tach floats, that generally means that you're running out of voltage to run it. low voltage also makes the electric fuel pump run slower, which causes low fuel pressure. the smell may have been the alternator frying, because it doesn't work now. a new alternator with internal regulator and charge the battery, and everything should be normal again.

[Rodney Nelson]

John,

Is there anyway to check the alternator in my cars condition before purchasing a new one.

I did have this one rebuilt for a wable problem about 1.5 years ago.

[Rodney Nelson]

Okay, It has been three weeks or so and I removed the alternator, housing, and Fan.

I had my alternator rebuilt and a new regulator installed, the shop said it was bad.

I then had my fan and housing powder coated, which looks amazing I might add.

I fired the car up this morning, and the lights are still on bright as ever.

What do I do now?

[indigowhale]

What is your voltage now with the engine running?

I am assuming that you have an internal voltage regulator and that it was replaced in the rebuild?

...if it is external, you may be in luck. It would be on the left side of the engine bay under some cover. If it is a S.V. Marchall, I have a slightly used one for sale in the Used 911 Parts section of this board. It takes 10 minutes to replace.

If your voltage is normal 13.5 - 14.5, do you have Sylvania Silverstar headlights?

[Rodney Nelson]

No, it has a brand new voltage regulator, it is internal.

[Early_S_Man]

Rodney.

I don't believe the O2 lamp is related to your other problems.

The O2 warning lamp is controlled by a counter mounted behind the instruments which gets its' signal from the speedometer terminal #'A'. Every 30,000 miles ... the mileage the counter turns the warning lamp on ... indicating that the O2 sensor needs to be changed. The mileage counter can be reset with a small screwdriver to push a small recessed switch inside the counter case.

[KNS]

indigowhale,
You asked about the Sylvania Silverstar headlights, any reason? I think that's what I have.

[Rodney Nelson]

Warren,

That is unbelievable, I never heard of that before! I had no idea that there was a counter. I will find it and reset it. But why is my battery light on while the car is running then if that is the case?

[Early_S_Man]

The alternator warning lamp is a separate issue. Check your system Voltage again.