Hi guys, First, my apologies as I have 'robbed' one of the surviving '70 Buick Gran Sports from US, importing it to Finland just days ago :Brow: I picked the car up from the harbor, topping up the tank and throwing in a fresh battery. Started beautifully and ran just great. Did some 100 miles from the harbor back home without any problems! At home I shut off the engine and it would not start anymore, but using jumper cables it started right up. So, I figured there must be problem with the alternator not charging the battery and driving that 100 miles with headlights on and running heater-blower motor constantly pretty much drained the battery. Before digging any deeper I thought it might be worth writing on this board, because I just realized that the GEN light did not lit at all, at any stage. No GEN light if ignition is on or off! Even with busted alternator I always figured the GEN light should lit up with ignition on and before starting, if I have understood correctly? My first thing to do is to get the engine running and check the voltage at battery - but if someone here has an idea about other possible problem points, because of the 'missing' GEN light, I am all ears Will let you know the voltage as soon as I have time to check it out... -JJ-
Huh...one $0.05 light bulb failing shuts down the whole generating circuit?!? Geez, better check that in the first place - after all, one light bulb is lot cheaper than new alternator. Before I can properly disassemble the instrument panel, I'd prefer getting the driver side door open ... some *#!%#*# broke the driver side door opening mechanism during transit from US to FIN! At the moment I have to hop in from passenger side. Just to have something to do I did check battery voltage: initially 12,2V ... drops down to rock-steady 11,9V after starting the engine (though it started just barely) --> nothing is going to the battery at the moment. If the problem was in the voltage regulator, shouldn't the voltage be fluctuating? -JJ-
12.2 volts is too low for the battery. If that is the measurement after an attempt to charge it, your battery is defective.
Should've mentioned: it's 12.2V at the moment - the battery is quite drained after driving 100 miles without working alternator! Voltage will be higher after recharging the battery indoors... -JJ-
After the battery is charged check the wiring for the alt and reg before you start putting parts on it.
Phew - found the problem: just some wire connections corroded and loose here and there. Some cleaning and checking loose joints did the trick and now I am getting around 13V @idle and around 14V @1500rpm. Odd thing, referring to comment by 65specialconver. I changed the GEN light bulb, but the light is still out of action, thoug recharge circuit is still working OK. There seems to be some connection problem in the PCB as the the GEN light also illuminates if I touch the wires behind the instrument panel (ign on, of course). Oh well, winter is coming fast and that means plenty of time to check all wiring circuits, LOL! -JJ-
Greetings to my Finnish friend at the top of the world from the bottom of the world (but I've been to Finland twice. Beautiful country)... sorry for slight hijack, but if the car(s) run(s) alternator(s), why is there a GEN (generator) light? This is baffling me in mine...
Check the voltage at the battery with the engine running. Should between 13.5 and 14.5 volts running. Try again with High beams and heater on. Should be no lower than 13.5 volts.
