Lights in the dash while driving

[Victor Valentim]

Hi all,

My 1HZ 1991 is showing me few lights when I am driving and I would like to ask if anyone has experienced this before:



It started about 2 years ago, but only happened when I was driving on full sunlight. The reason I say that is because I noticed that when I drove past a shade of light, the lights in the dash would go off quickly and return when I was back on full sunlight. (Due to the current my solar panels were putting through)

I have changed my solar panels, however, now it is happening even during the night, which gives me the impression that my alternator might be the issue.

What should be the current the alternator should be putting into my crank battery when engine is idling?

See below the lights I am talking about:

 

[Chris]

When charging, the alternator should be around 14.4v and when the batteries are charged, you should see something around 13.8v. Now the gauge on the dash is not typically an accurate measure but it is an indicator and I'd say that looking at yours, it's pretty high. Certainly higher than you'd normally expect to see.

Oil pressure looks good though.

 

[guyc]

I experienced something similar and it turned out to be a duff battery. I ignored it and it fried a number of my electrical components so it was an expensive lesson learnt.

Alternatively it could be your truck trying to be festive.

 

[Higgy]

Im glad you mentioned the oil pressure gauge Chris, 'Coz' Thats where mine sits around 65/70 mph Never really had any thing to compare it to Before now.....And i always thought Random lights Popping up on the Dash Meant alternator on its way out or alternator related Problem

 

[frank rabbets]

Very often a poor earth on a related circuit.

 

[Victor Valentim]

Hey All,

Thanks heaps for all the answers! For some reason I did not get notified and just saw it.

Just to add to the point:

- I have dual battery system (CTek) and I have a good gauge in my dash that shows me everything about my auxiliary battery. I monitored it, and it is always sitting at 14.3v when charging and 13V when car is off.

- I checked the crank battery with car running and it is showing me 15.6V (that's why I asked how many volts it should be, as I was sure should be always less than 14.5v for lead acid batteries) I believe my CTek is doing its job and only sending 14.3v to the auxiliary one, which is good. But something else must be wrong.

Should I try to replace the crank battery with another just to test it out? Or giving that I know the alternator is putting 15.6v it will only damage the other battery?

Thanks all!

 

[Victor Valentim]

I experienced something similar and it turned out to be a duff battery. I ignored it and it fried a number of my electrical components so it was an expensive lesson learnt.

Alternatively it could be your truck trying to be festive.

I hope it is only gonna last during Xmas period LOL!

 

[Victor Valentim]

When charging, the alternator should be around 14.4v and when the batteries are charged, you should see something around 13.8v. Now the gauge on the dash is not typically an accurate measure but it is an indicator and I'd say that looking at yours, it's pretty high. Certainly higher than you'd normally expect to see.

Oil pressure looks good though.

Thanks Chris!

Do you know what is that bottom right light for?

 

[Chris]

No I don't. I saw that first time round and did wonder. Something we don't have I'd guess. Looks like he symbol for heated handlebars on my bike. Some kinda filter maybe?

 

[flint]

Air cleaner clogged.
https://dashboardsymbols.com/2012/07/clogged-air-filter-indicator/

 

[Bat21]

Take the plug off the back of the alternator, clean the terminal as best as you can, get some long nose pliers and pinch/tighten up all the individual female connectors, spray with WD40 then reconnect. Then, cable tie the lead to stop it moving about at the plug end.
Do this then report back to us regarding the dashboard flashing lights.

 

[StarCruiser]

As Bat says but also check with a meter that you have connection to the battery sense wire. Essentially with ignition on you have one contact for the warming light, one direction feed for excitation (field) and one goes direct to the left hand battery (See drawing) via a fusible link.

Check this fusible link has not broken. At 15.6v you could boil your battery if used so this needs fixing. If all else is correct then it looks like the regulator in the alternator is faulty. If it’s intermittent, Bat’s suggestion may well cure the situation but do check battery voltage is 14.4v max when charging.

 

[frank rabbets]

The plug is designed to be taken apart. You can then have a good clean. But remember to mark the wires as they go back in any order.

 

[Victor Valentim]

I will do that tomorrow and see how it goes...

If I need to replace the alternator, I will probably upgrade it, as I use the car mostly for camping, it would help my 12v system a lot.

We have a lot of options in Australia for alternators at 140amps, but I saw this one here that got my attention:

https://oex.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/NP-RE-17-0001-DXA4044U-4pp-LR.pdf

Any thoughts?

 

[Chris]

Frankly you're very unlikely to ever see 140 amp load on your alternator or even close to that. I think we all get a bit too excited about fitting high capacity alternators to our trucks. If you add up all of the demand on your system - lights, heaters, battery charging and it comes, say, to 80 amps then changing to a 140 amp unit is of no benefit at all. There are some alternator gurus on here who will hopefully corroborate this. An alternator only supplies what is asked of it. It can be a 1000 amp unit but if you only need 20 amps, that's all you'll get.

That monster alternator might be more helpful in a winching situation - but that's another argument we've already laboured on here. With all of the intelligent kit you can buy now and LED lighting too, the demands placed on an alternator are probably less than they've ever been.

 

[Victor Valentim]

Frankly you're very unlikely to ever see 140 amp load on your alternator or even close to that. I think we all get a bit too excited about fitting high capacity alternators to our trucks. If you add up all of the demand on your system - lights, heaters, battery charging and it comes, say, to 80 amps then changing to a 140 amp unit is of no benefit at all. There are some alternator gurus on here who will hopefully corroborate this. An alternator only supplies what is asked of it. It can be a 1000 amp unit but if you only need 20 amps, that's all you'll get.

That monster alternator might be more helpful in a winching situation - but that's another argument we've already laboured on here. With all of the intelligent kit you can buy now and LED lighting too, the demands placed on an alternator are probably less than they've ever been.

That's what I like about this Forum Chris, some of you guys are helpful at a point that I can't even describe. That is no silly or bad intentionally replies. Thank you for that.

I think you got a point there, and I agree with you.

I am between: Do I fix the original one or buy a upgrade one? and how much would be worth spending.

If a 140amps is let's say $350, and that monster one is $450, would that $100 be worth? OR, would actually the upgrade be worth?

 

[Chris]

Well it's kinda hard to be exact Victor because we don't know quite what is wrong with the alternator. There are some main components inside. There's all the windy coil stuff, the brushes and then the regulator pack. I bought a spare reg recently for my spares box and it was £26. So if it's the reg then I'd say fix the original and maybe even stick a fresh set of brushes in too. On things like starters and alternators, I'd much rather have a refurbed original than a copy part. You know it fits - it's on there already.

Now in terms of replacing it completely, if there was a 100 amp at 350 and a 140 at 350 too there isn't really an argument that says do NOT buy the higher output unit but as I said earlier, there's no really advantage either. As for the monster one, there's no advantage that I can see even if it was only $50 more. You'll never use all the capacity of a 140 amp unit.

We like giving sensible answers too Victor. It's made easier when people ask sensible questions. We've had one or two members in the past who've asked ridiculous questions then simply refused to listen to the answer.

 

[Victor Valentim]

Take the plug off the back of the alternator, clean the terminal as best as you can, get some long nose pliers and pinch/tighten up all the individual female connectors, spray with WD40 then reconnect. Then, cable tie the lead to stop it moving about at the plug end.
Do this then report back to us regarding the dashboard flashing lights.

Hey Bat,
The cables were already tied up and plugs were hardly connected. Unfortunately there was no difference, I believe the regulator is probably gone. ?

 

[frank rabbets]

It's quite easy to take the alternator apart. I took a few pics on the way just in case. The brush box is almost water proof and I guess if crud gets in there it can't get out. I would have thought it's worth the effort to have a look inside for an obvious defect.

 

[Chris]

Frank is right, it's very easy to get apart. The hardest part is getting the alternator off the car. If you're unsure about tackling that then please ask. There's some bolts to undo that if you do them wrongly, you'll end up in a mess. Snapping the tensioner bolt is very common.