Alternator warning light.....
 

Hello all:

recently the alternator warning light on my 79SC stays lit for sometimes upto 10 secs on a cold startup, ie. only in the morning, after that all day it is OK, goes out right after start..
Iwill check the v-belt to make sure it is tensioned properly, but other than that what are some symptons for an alternator or voltage regulator getting ready to bite the dust ???


[or is this fairly normal on cold startup, now that it gets cooler at night]....


thanks for any help....

I didn't have any alt warning light symptoms, but I did witness periodically:
- tach "bouncing" wildly
- headlights flickering from dim/bright/dim, moreso after engine was warmed up

Get a voltmeter reading - I used the cigarette lighter jack and witnessed voltage surges beyond 15V.

I had the alternator rebuilt and replaced the regulator to solve my problems (well, the problems above anyway.) I still have others :(

Bill
 

Have got Wayne's 101 book - in there he explains several warning light symptoms and the diagnosis for each.

You might try cleaning your ground at the battery. That's the cheap "fix." If that makes not difference, use the Search function to determine how to hook a voltmeter to the battery and load the car to check for voltage output.

Alternator AND Early_S_Man will get you great advice.

John

Bill,
Have a look at this thread:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/79443-flickering-alternator-light.html