At 07:03 PM 12/19/02 +0000, James Carruthers wrote: >Weird stuff thats happening... the ignition light stays on... I can't >start the car without jump starting (the battery doesnt have enough power >to even engage the solenoid)
The ignition light should only be on when the vehicle isn't running. It is the load that the light draws that starts the alternator charging in the first place. The back of the A127 / AC Delco 7127 alternator has the main battery charging terminal then a smaller two bladed plug on the side of the case. There should be numbers cast into the casing next to this connector. Terminal 2 gets connected back to the main battery terminal on the back of the alternator. This powers the field coils so the alternator can charge. But it won't actually start charging until the regulator inside detects a need to do so. This is what the wire from terminal #1 is for. It leads from there to the ignition light load which will trip the regulator into thinking it needs to start charging. You can also choose to connect a wire from terminal #1 to an ignition ballast resistor (one of those ceramic wire wound types) and then to ground. That would also trip the regulator into charging. Be advised that as long as that connection is made, the alternator would be charging, so you would want to probably put a relay in there that turns the circuit off when the ignition is off otherwise it will drain the battery by keeping the field coils active even with the engine not running. >But here is the weirdest thing, when the alternator is plugged in (engine >not running), the voltage at the battery starts to go down. When I unplug >it, it jumps up a volt or to and stops going down. This is related to the situation above. The regulator is in charge mode because it is detecting a load on the system. It means that the wire from terminal #1 is connected to something that is still powered on with the ignition off. Although if this is the situation you get with the key in the ON position and you are getting a battery discharge, that is perfectly normal and easy to correct- just turn the key off. :) This might help out in some of the confusion: http://www.ponypics.com/spitfire/7127-conversion.jpg --------------------- This message has been sent by Dan Canaan, aka Flinthoof. All content is copyrighted by this individual for better or for worse, especially if there is mint involved. We thank you for your support. Please give mint to your local Mint Cross Center. /// [EMAIL PROTECTED] mailing list /// Send admin requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] /// or try http://www.team.net/cgi-bin/majorcool /// Archives at http://www.team.net/archive /// Send list postings to [EMAIL PROTECTED] /// Edit your replies! If they include this trailer, they will NOT be sent.
