The message to which you are about to reply is shown first. GO TO REPLY FORM



 VIEW    REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE Replies to this message will be emailed.    PRINT   SAVE 

I'm not whining/complaining - just curious! 200

posted by  Don Foster on  Mon Feb 17 10:32 CST 2003
Author: [PROFILE] [EVERY POST] [THREADS] [BEST POSTS] RSS Feed     [IGNORE ALL POSTS]
last visit: Sun Oct 5 11:53 CST 2014
[RELATED]

"...putting a new brush/regulator assembly in the alternator. Problem solved, WHY!!??"

The old brushes were worn enough so that they just barely touched the slip rings. This meant that they were energizing the alternator just enough so it would output a trickle of current to the battery. The flickering you saw in the indicator bulb was because the charging current was dithering around a few amps -- not enough to fully charge the battery, but just enough to provide running current to the system.

Your battery would have expired soon, particularly driving at night in the cold with the wipers going (BTDT). And a million miles from civilization and cell towers.

You could have soldered replacement brushes into your original assembly, but replacing it all is a safe approach.

"...wife calls it a serious psychological flaw..."

Being perceptive and curious enough to catch a problem in the nick of time, before it catches you, is a "psychological flaw?"
--
Don Foster (near Cape Cod, MA)






USERNAME
Use "claim to be" below if you don't want to log in.
PASSWORD
I don't have an account. Sign me up.
CLAIM TO BE
Use only if you don't want to login (post anonymously).
ENTER CAPTCHA CODE
This is required for posting anonymously.
OPTIONS notify by email
Available only to user accounts.
SUBJECT
MODEL/YEAR
MESSAGE

DICTIONARY
LABEL(S) +
IMAGE URL *
[IMAGE LIBRARY (UPLOAD/SELECT)]

* = Field is optional.

+ = Enter space delimited labels for this post. An example entry: 240 muffler


©Jarrod Stenberg 1997-2022. All material except where indicated.


All participants agree to these terms.

Brickboard.com is not affiliated with nor sponsored by AB Volvo, Volvo Car Corporation, Volvo Cars of North America, Inc. or Ford Motor Company. Brickboard.com is a Volvo owner/enthusiast site, similar to a club, and does not intend to pose as an official Volvo site. The official Volvo site can be found here.