Alt light stays illuminated.

Kevin Lewis · 10-13-2005, 01:08 PM

Alternator light stays on when the headlamps are on. This started after my turn signal fuse blew and I replaced it. Now when the lights are on and I hit the brakes the alternator light gets brighter. Also, when I turn on the LH turn signal the signal blinks very rapidly, but the RH side signal blinks at the proper rate. Can anyone please help me fix this electrical freak show?

Rouser · Rouser's Garage

You picked up a short somewhere, and I would guess it's in the turn signal circuit. The fuse originally blew for some reason, so you're going to have to investigate that.

Check and make sure the bulbs in all the sockets front-and-rear are the correct dual-filament type. Also, you didn't state if you had a '70 - '73 or a '74 - '76; they utilize different flasher relays based on year span, and '74 & up have a single cockpit indicator.

Kevin Lewis · 10-13-2005, 02:28 PM

My car is a 1973 914-4 1.7 L. Is the flasher relay located under the dash in front of the fuse box?

Dave at Pelican Parts · Dave at Pelican Parts's Garage

Under the dash on top of the fuse box. Re-check all your fuses, and check the ground point that's up in there. Not a bad idea to clean off all the "fingers" that hold the fuses, and possibly just replace the fuses if they're old. If you're ambitious, cleaning all of the plugs on the back of the fuse panel (where the wires plug into the fuse holders, and where the relays plug into the sockets) is not a bad idea if you can get everything hooked up again properly!

And that's in addition to a short or a dead bulb in your left-side turn signals somewhere.

....Or you could be low on blinker fluid....

--DD

Kevin Lewis · 10-13-2005, 03:26 PM

Dave,
What happened to the JWest upgraded fuse box? Will Pelican still have these available? Do you have any feed back on how well they work or ease of installation? Just thought that to get rid of all the electrical grimlins associated with the fuse block, buy one and install.
There is a lot of dirt, dust and a little bit of corrosion on my original fuse block. What's the best method of cleaning that thing, it sure it packed with a lot of wire and spade lugs.

914GT · 10-13-2005, 05:40 PM

One way to clean the contacts is to use a small wire wheel (brass or stainless steel) on a Dremel. With the battery disconnected, pull each wire off one at a time and brush the male terminal and the female connector as best that you can. Check that each connector fits on tightly, and if not use pliers to tighten it and push it back on. When all done you can spray the whole back side with clear Krylon acrylic spray to prevent oxidation and repel moisture.

Dave at Pelican Parts · Dave at Pelican Parts's Garage

The JWest fuse box is, I hear, being redesigned at the moment. Not sure when they'll be back. Someone else on the 914club board is making a similar fusebox replacement, though.

From what I hear, replacement is straightforward, except for the fact that you have to bend the wires around somewhat to fit on the terminals on the new fuse box. On very old wires (like ours) sometimes this isn't the easiest thing to do--but it's usually not a problem.

--DD

Kevin Lewis · 10-14-2005, 07:32 AM

Thank you all for the input, I'll get to cleaning and hunting an open wire this weekend. It's cooling down here in AZ, finally. It should only be 95 degrees in the garage, Nice and cool.