Since this thread is about the Battery Light, I thought I'd throw my
question in the ring...

I replaced a broken alternator bracket a couple of weeks ago.  In he
process, the tab on the blue alternator wire broke.  I put a new terminal on
and hooked it back up.  In the process, some dumba** (me) dropped the
alternator on my concrete driveway.  Oops...

Well, the battery light does not come on upon start up.

I'm thinking one of two things:

A) the terminal is not on properly...

B) in dropping the alternator, something broke...

Any thoughts...

On Jan 8, 2008 12:20 PM, Kai Mei <kai@newclear.us> wrote:

> Alternators seem to run $45 to $55 shipped on the Samba Classifieds.
> I just bought a rebuilt at a alternator store for $70. Is it quality
> rebuild?who knows? but it's quiet and putting out 14.2V at the
> battery, so I'm not complaining.
>
>
> On Jan 7, 2008, at 1:39 PM, Old Volks Home wrote:
>
> > Greg -
> >
> > Airhead Parts has a the Genuine Bosch Regulator for $53.74:
> >
> > http://www.airheadparts.com/viewDetail.asp?
> > strMasterCat=&idproduct=7748
> >
> > Your 85 should have the same alternator that's on both my 84's
> > --
> > Jim Thompson
> > 84 GL 1.9 "Gloria"
> > 84 Westfalia 2.1 "Ole Putt"
> > 73 K Ghia Coupe "Denise"
> > 72 411 Station Wagon "Pug"
> > oldvolkshome@gmail.com
> > http://www.oldvolkshome.com
> > ***********************************
> > On Jan 7, 2008 10:21 AM, Greg Potts <greg@pottsfamily.ca> wrote:
> >
> >> Hi John,
> >>
> >> OK, I've put a charged battery into it and the light is still on. The
> >> voltage at the battery is reading just barely above 12V which tells
> >> me the alternator is not doing its job. The light does not go out
> >> when the engine is revved up (which it did before the stall out on
> >> Jan 4th) but it does flicker a bit in brightness.
> >>
> >> The ground strap was loose on the original battery, but was not
> >> disconnected while the engine was running; The engine had already
> >> died out when I discovered it was not fully tightened down. I will be
> >> replacing it ASAP with a heavier and slightly longer cable.
> >>
> >> I don't have a spare VR on hand, and my local NAPA wants $49 for a
> >> BERU voltage regulator vs $89 for the Bosch regulator. Are these
> >> prices in line? I haven't yet looked close enough to determine which
> >> alternator i have.
> >>
> >> My local auto-electric rebuilder did the bosch alternator on my
> >> aircooled bus for $125 last summer so I'm thinking that would be a
> >> better choice. It doesn't look like the re-and-re will be all that
> >> much trouble and having the alternator completely redone seems like a
> >> better idea...
> >>
> >> Additional guidance appreciated...
> >>
> >> Happy Trails,
> >>
> >> Greg Potts
> >> 1973/74/77/79 Westfakia "Bob The Tomato
> >> www.pottsfamily.ca
> >> www.busesofthecorn.com
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>  On 5-Jan-08, at 12:03 AM, John Meeks wrote:
> >>
> >>> Greg,
> >>> My money's on worn alternator brushes. Got a spare voltage
> >>> regulator?
> >>> Let us know what you find.
> >>> John
> >>>
> >>> On Jan 4, 2008 8:33 PM, Greg Potts <greg@pottsfamily.ca> wrote:
> >>>> Hi Volks,
> >>>>
> >>>> I was driving the vanagon on the highway tonight and as I
> >>>> cruised up
> >>>> the off-ramp I saw the battery warning light was on. I figured
> >>>> it had
> >>>> spit the belt, and made a note to deal with it as soon as I got
> >>>> home,
> >>>> since I was only a few miles further. And then as I pulled away
> >>>> from
> >>>> the off-ramp, the light went out. Uh-oh, says I... That's the
> >>>> sign of
> >>>> a wonky alternator, or a VERY loose belt. So I kept watch on the
> >>>> tachometer to get an idea of how bad the problem was... it
> >>>> seemed to
> >>>> vary a bit, lighting up when below 2,200 to 3,000 RPM.
> >>>>
> >>>> But it didn't last 7 minutes before the engine quit completely. I
> >>>> still had dash lights and emergency flashers (dim, and fast-
> >>>> flashing), but the starter wouldn't even click. I checked the belts
> >>>> and they were OK, but the battery connection was pretty loose. I
> >>>> pried off the + terminal without much trouble at all. Luckily I was
> >>>> very close to my brother's house at the time and he and I were able
> >>>> to tow the vanagon back to my house.
> >>>>
> >>>> So what's the prognosis?  Did the loose battery terminal allow the
> >>>> battery to run flat, or does this pattern indicate a failed
> >>>> alternator?  I can throw a spare marine battery into it tomorrow to
> >>>> get it running again; once it's lit up I can put a voltmeter on it
> >>>> and see if it's charging.
> >>
>

--
Jim
Wilmington, NC