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  #16  
Old 02-09-2009, 04:16 AM
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Re: Sensor lights on dash come on when off idle

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Originally Posted by andreoz View Post
Very coincidental that they did come on at Christmas time!!!
Funny - I had the "Christmas Lights" appear - 2 days before Christmas 2007!



I was driving through the Lane Cove Tunnel at the time - thankfully the battery had enough charge to keep the electrical system operating!

I had my original alternator rebuilt by an auto electrician - the bearings, voltage regulator, and rectifier were all replaced. The alternator has performed flawlessly since then.

The SVX alternator is indeed a higher output model than the one fitted to the Liberty - I recommend that you have your old alternator rebuilt with new parts.

Jason.
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  #17  
Old 02-09-2009, 04:07 PM
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Re: Sensor lights on dash come on when off idle

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Originally Posted by andreoz View Post
Thank you for that message. We are talking "Down Under" where there were very few SVX's imported so it is becoming somewhat of a rarity with virtually no parts available! I'll get the full specs of the replacement!
Oh, I didn't notice your location! My apologies. I do, though, agree with Jason RE having it rebuilt by a local Alternator shop. You'll end up with a better product which will do the job and last longer. They shop should be able to rebuild it to a higher AMP output, too!
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  #18  
Old 05-29-2009, 06:57 PM
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Angry Re: Sensor lights on dash come on when off idle

The SAGA continues!!! I hope someone can assist from their experience before I start ripping out more things!

The lower output Alternator seemed to work OK - no Christmas lights, but then I noticed that my dash lights are blinking and when I travelled at night with headlights on, my headlights were fading cyclically with the car revs. I took it back and they replaced the "faulty" alternator with another one of the same rating ( I think it was 80Amp). Well, would you believe same thing happenned pretty much straight away - I had a couple of long country night trips and I felt like I had strobe headlights!!!

As an original replacement alternator was not available in OZ and I saw a post about Maniac Motors, I ordered an SVX, 95Amp rated alternator directly from them - excellent service I must say! Even with transport to Sydney, it was cheaper than the local, lower rating alternator. Made me very happy and I couldn't wait to get it replaced.

Had it put in couple of days ago, drove out of the workshop and 5 mins later parked the car in my office. After finishing work in the evening, a few minutes into the trip with the lights on, all of a sudden my dash board alarm "Christmas Lights" came on, then off, few blinked several times, came full on again and then went off. Stayed off till I got home and I thought to myself - OK - alternator settling in!

Well, the next morning the "Christmas Lights" are back on all the time now!!!

It was mentioned previously that it may be the voltage regulator. Is it possible that something else in the car keeps on blowing the regulators and on different rating alternators, the symptoms are different. Lower rating gives strobing lights and high rating brings on the "Christmas Lights"??

I thought I would take advantage of the hefty freight charge from the US so I also ordered a spare regulator and rectifier, so I could replace them in my old Alternator - is that the problem however!

Any advice from the expert panel will be greatly appreciated..
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  #19  
Old 05-29-2009, 10:18 PM
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Re: Sensor lights on dash come on when off idle

Giday Mate, Have a look at the wires that that go into the plug that is on the side of the alternator. If the red one is loose or broken, the regulator looses track of the battery voltage.

Harvey.
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  #20  
Old 05-29-2009, 10:39 PM
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Re: Sensor lights on dash come on when off idle

All advice to date shows the voltage sensing circuit to comprise a white wire. Unfortunately the physical wiring of the charging system does not appear to conform with the manuals and requests to sort this out have been to no avail, so that circuit tracing is difficult.

Check the fusible link and ALL alternator wiring, plug/sockets and terminals, for any possible intermittent connection. Any corrosion should be attended to, including battery connections.

Is anything after market or non standard connected within the suspect area?

Meantime have faith.
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  #21  
Old 05-30-2009, 03:44 AM
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Re: Sensor lights on dash come on when off idle

Nothing aftermarket in the car whatsoever, and one would suspect that if the alternator was fully replaced, all connections to the alternator would be solid and clean.

Will check the battery area and double check all relevant voltages.
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  #22  
Old 05-30-2009, 05:58 AM
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Re: Sensor lights on dash come on when off idle

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Originally Posted by andreoz View Post
Nothing aftermarket in the car whatsoever, and one would suspect that if the alternator was fully replaced, all connections to the alternator would be solid and clean.

Will check the battery area and double check all relevant voltages.
You can make no assumptions in respect of what others may have done. Carefully check all that has been suggested. It would appear that your fault is intermittent. Only measurements recorded when the fault is occurring will be of use.
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  #23  
Old 05-30-2009, 08:46 PM
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Re: Sensor lights on dash come on when off idle

Having given this curly problem second thoughts it occurs to me that as you report that your headlights intermittently dim, at that point battery volts nor alternator volts can be reaching the lights. Either should maintain the lights brightly illuminated.

The head lights have independent relays and fuse links for left and right, which are connected direct to battery positive as a safety measure. As I gather both headlights are affected this surely indicates an intermittent battery voltage.

Is there a faulty battery ground or positive connection, or an internal battery fault which requires vibration as when under way, in order to fault? The continuity of the B+ circuit is also dependant on connections within the distribution board, so here is another point of possible faulty connection.

This is such a bummer that I am putting everything forward that could cause the problem.
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Last edited by Trevor; 05-30-2009 at 08:48 PM.
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  #24  
Old 05-31-2009, 03:23 AM
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Re: Sensor lights on dash come on when off idle

Trevor, many thanks for your additional thoughts, however the dimming headlights and dash lights on the lower output alternator were too regular and seemed tied to the engine revs to be just an earthing issue. The dimming was not full but I would say 25% reduction and a strobing effect.

With the replacement alternator, there is no longer any dimming but simply the various alarm lights are back on the dash board.

Another development this afternoon while driving - suddenly a grinding noise in the front - opening the bonnet I think I isolated it to the NEW alternator! Nothing visibly a problem but alternator getting very hot so I suspect perhaps a collapsed bearing. Will find out tomorrow when have the new alternator taken off again. Will keep you posted with the jinxed alternator saga!
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