red light flicker?

[j.hall]

The red light flickers when Im just starting to go. Belt seems to be adjusted OK.....5/8 to 3/4 deflection.

[jpamental]

The red light coming on at very low RPM's is pretty common. If it goes off when the RPM's go higher (above 1500 or so), then it's probably a pretty easy few steps to try. First clean all the grounds you can find, and check/replace the ground straps from the body to the battery and from the body to the transmission. Cheap parts and the one from the body to transmission is often overlooked. Next would be the brushes in the generator. If they're really worn, a new set is about $12 or so and also helps. Next would probably be the voltage regulator (about $50-60), but you don't want to do that without being sure that the generator is putting out at least 14V at idle (measuring amps is helpful too if you can).

What year is your car, and does it have a 25 or 30 amp generator (68 switched to the larger one as well as 69).

Hope that gets you started - post back with more info when you can.

Jason

[j.hall]

Thanks for the tips,
Brushes it was. One brush was worn almost all the way down and the other was in very good shape. I suspect someone in the past just changed the top (easy) one and let the other go?!?!

joe
'68 912 coupe
'64 356 coupe

[jpamental]

Probably right - and I'll bet you'll be good to go when you replace both of them. An angle-head screwdriver will really help with that so you don't have to pull the generator or other bits and pieces.

And the parts you can probably get locally - the generator is the same (Bosch GR15X) as for same year bugs and Karmann Ghias.

Jason

[j.hall]

Too late I already pulled everything apart....I'll use an angle screw driver next time. Yes I did order the VW part.
Your Porsche looks great.....are the Fuch's 15X6's? What size tires? Its hard to tell by the picture.....does your car have the original "high" ride height or has it been lowered?
Ive got a set of 15X6" Fuchs but am curious about tire size/clearance.
joe

[jpamental]

I'll check the tire size - I think they're 185 somethings. I'm honestly not sure if they're 5.5s or 6's. I think 5.5. I got them in trade for my old steels (with new tires) and about $400 from a friend who had them kicking around. They are real Fuchs, but I didn't look up the part number to see what the measurements are.

I lowered the front a little bit, but it's still a little high in the back. I tried to remove a spring plate a few months ago but it's pretty stuck on the torsion bar, so I didn't fool with it any more. I might try to tear it apart this winter and do bushings, etc. and lower it a little bit then.

There are 1/4" spacers in the back, and I'd like to get some in the front. There's a tiny bit of rub on the inner wall at 'full lock'. Otherwise no issues, and my speedometer is pretty much dead on.

Good luck with the generator. Let me know how it goes. I ended up replacing mine just a month or two ago - once you've had it out, it's not too bad to get it back in there. I ended up getting a bum replacement and had to do it all twice, so I'm really good at it now...

Jason

ps - thanks! any pics of your cars up anywhere?

[j.hall]

How are your spring plate/torsion bar bushings? If the original rubber is still good I'd leave them in. Mine were shot (if the torsion bar cover is not centered on the cover plate they need replacing). '68 was the only year (from what I understand) that the bushing were permantly bonded. They have to be hacksawed and wire brushed off! Its a lot of work but if there shot it has to be done. The only replacements are plastic......squeaky plastic! I have found that a liberal dose of WD40 keeps the noise down and also if the roads you drive are fairly smooth its not an issue. I was thinking of lowering mine also until I realized how tricky it is. Duane Spencers 912 Performance Guide even recommends having someone who's done it before perform the work. I left mine at the original height. They do sell an adjustable spring plate (I called Duane Spencer about it and he even said it was the way to go!) but its a bit expensive (around $400). I did find that using an angle finder made the job of matching the spring plate angle very easy. Ibought a cheap one ($7) at Home Depot.
Mine were so bad that they thumped when I hit a bump!! What a difference the new ones made.
How do you post pictures on this site?? I guess when it comes to computers I'm a techniphobe!!
joe

[jpamental]

Joe,

If you hit the 'Post Reply' button instead of just typing into the 'quick reply' box, you will see a message form that has a link at the bottom to upload a photo.

My suspension bushings ALL need to be replaced! (I'm hoping to do them this fall/winter). My plan is to go with Elephant Racing poly/bronze bushings all around - you should check them out. A bunch of people are using them and love them. They have zirk fittings for greasing them and are incredibly smooth. Probably just do rubber bushings for the banana arms but do the Elephant's for the spring plates and front control arms. (http://www.elephantracing.com). Cheaper than trying to find originals, but still a little pricey: about 250 for the front set, and I think 300 for the rear spring plate set.

I've been happy about doing all the work on my car myself (that's part of the reason I got an older car - I really enjoy it), so I'll definitely do the work myself, and then see about finding a shop that can do an alignment when I'm done. There are enough posts on the 912bbs.org boards about how to do it, and I really only want to get it in the general vicinity of an inch or so lower - I'm not going to kill myself to get it that perfect 25 inches to the fender lip or anything.

Thanks for the lowdown on your experience.

Jason