gen light on long trip

[stapla]

What might cause the gen light to come on during a long trip ? Its off now but was on for 50kms or so.  Belt and wiring ok.  Could the volt reg or gen overheat for a period ?  Its off now and multimeter shows voltage increase with revs.  I figured if gen dies completely I might have a couple hrs driving max before battery dies ?

[stapla]

At least I know the globes work !

[FC427]

I did a 400ks with no alternator  and had to use the wipers in my one ton Holden before it died ......FC427.......

[EffCee]

Peter,

Sounds like a sticking volatge reglator to me. After sitting for some time it may have stuck breifly after being used and has come good again. If the light comes on again, you could do the following. If it has a removable cover you could check to ensure that the contacts are clean, not dirty, check also with a multimeter that it is getting to14.4-14.8volts before cutting out. The Lucas type are adjustable, not sure about the Bosch, I would think that these too are adjustable if all original to get the voltage right

Keith

[brads59]

As long as you dont need lights or other acc, you should be able to drive for ages with flat battery.
Just dont turn it off :P

[KFH]

Faulty voltage regulator or maybe sticking brushes in generator.  Is the voltage low and no increase with revs when light on?

Keith

[FC_fer_me]

Does the gen light come on brightly or just dull? The gen light glows dull on my FC on long trips and I think it's just due to the fact that the battery is fully charged. I've never had any problems with flat batteries in all the time I've had it. Cheers, Jack

[stapla]

Gen light was bright.  Well brighter than the temp light (another story)

1st time came on lasted 50kms and disappeared while driving. 

2nd time came on and stayed on for remainder of trip including 2 stops of 30mins each

Will check it out tomorrow. 

Cheers
Peter.

[GOA350]

Check your brushes and get some emery paper on the contacts of the regulator then spray with CRC, be sure to disconnect the battery first.

[stapla]

Thanks all for your tips.  Even after overnight rest, gen light was still on.  I took the cover off the volt reg and flicked the contacts on the points closest to the firewall.  This appeared made the charging circuit work again.

As per the suggestions I cleaned them with emery paper, air, then wd40.

Max volts I saw was 14V.  Max amps with a rev was 5amps charge.  On idle it was under half an amp.

Thanks again for your tips.

Cheers
Peter.