RA40 charge light weirdness

[thechuckster]

hi folks,

i've done Karl's magical EA alternator upgrade to the 18RTE (see this) but despite the new unit pumping out a decent charge and a stable voltage, the dash light refuses to go out.

I'm just going back to the garage to test another bulb of a higher wattage - but i'm wondering if anyone has done this on an RA40 (which has a magically different loom to the RA23) and had issues with the charge light?

cheers and tia,
Charles.

[bansheebuzz]

do not run a light globe of higher wattage, you may fry the w/light circuit in the regulator.

[maurice c]

Dont take out the bulb either if you have the 18rc in there, it will cause the choke to malfunction.

[thechuckster]

Dont take out the bulb either if you have the 18rc in there, it will cause the choke to malfunction.

... i thought it made the interior light change to random flash mode instead of uselessly dim.


... tried a lower wattage bulb (higher resistance) and no change - so i've bypassed the dash loom altogether and it now works as mr bosch designed it.

[brett_celicacoupe]

it could be possible the light is wired ass-about in the falcons.

ie 0V at the regulator is heavy load (charge light on in falcon)
12V at the reg is no load (charge light off in falcon)


try changing the voltage of the other bulb pin. i think it grounds in the celica, so supply a 12+ voltage to it.

[thechuckster]

goddamn you're up early!

is all good now - toyota wiring bypassed with:
gauge fuse ->alt light ->diode ->new yellow/white wire ->L terminal on alternator

[brett_celicacoupe]

just finished work



have you tested it with say putting the battery sense voltage on a pot set at say 10v ?

[thechuckster]

no i tested it by making sure it went out when the engine got up to speed and output voltage was at ~13.8 V

and i'm sick of tinkering with the alternator wiring in my car as i have to remove turbo piping to get access to it... so it works as well as it works...

[Robbos_Toyotas]

that charge light is used to excite the alternator - it sees it as the trigger to start charging (and also obviously when your not getting a charge)

with the light out now, is it charging again?

[barned01]

well i picked up an ea alternator for my ra40 on the weekend, it has no regulator in it thoug and my local parts place wants 40 dllars for a new one
they also said the 'slip rings' look like they need replacing

if i can ovorcome the 40 dollar fright of a new regulator (are there regulators from other cars that would be compatible, ie. magna's or is it a specific item to fords of which none of the fords at the wreckers had the regulator), and also work out what to do with the 'slip rings, whatever they are, then i can give this upgrade a shot and let you know how i tackled it (poorly no doubt).

[Robbos_Toyotas]

well i picked up an ea alternator for my ra40 on the weekend, it has no regulator in it thoug and my local parts place wants 40 dllars for a new one
they also said the 'slip rings' look like they need replacing

if i can ovorcome the 40 dollar fright of a new regulator (are there regulators from other cars that would be compatible, ie. magna's or is it a specific item to fords of which none of the fords at the wreckers had the regulator), and also work out what to do with the 'slip rings, whatever they are, then i can give this upgrade a shot and let you know how i tackled it (poorly no doubt).

take the regulator to a wreckers with you, bosch are pretty generic generally with their things like that.

[thechuckster]

dont try fitting an old 18R alternator - they only pump out about 40 amps at the best of times and finding a good one will be hit-and-miss. I dont think ashdown offer an exchange unit for them now either.

Read this FAQ on upgrading to an EA falcon alternator. I did that - except that i extended the reach of the adjusting up by adding another curved section from spare arm (i welded them together).

[BradW]

goddamn you're up early!

is all good now - toyota wiring bypassed with:
gauge fuse ->alt light ->diode ->new yellow/white wire ->S terminal on alternator

The warning light wire should be connected to the "L" terminal on the alternator. The "S" terminal should be connected to B+.

barned01: $40 is a pretty reasonable price for a reg. Is it a genuine Bosch or an aftermarket copy?
If you have the reg out of the alternator, have a look in the hole that the reg goes in and you will see 2 copper rings. These are the slip rings. They should be flat and reasonably smooth. Yours will probably have grooves worn in them, which would be why you were told they needed to be replaced. These can be machined (if there is enough left on them). To do this you need to strip the alternator apart and machine the slip rings on a lathe. You can probably get away with leaving the slip rings as they are and fitting the new reg, but the brushes will wear out quicker and eventually the slip rings will wear right through.

[thechuckster]

The warning light wire should be connected to the "L" terminal on the alternator. The "S" terminal should be connected to B+..

sorry - you are right, he light is conencted to the L terminal - up too early typing..

[barned01]

ok i finally got around to doing the alternator upgrade today.
I am having a similar problem to yourself chuck and i know you have a solution above but i need it spelled out to me/pretty piccie to make sense of what's going on.

so far i have have it wired up as per pic below.


little bit more info...
there used to be 3 wires going to the alternator in addition to the thick B+ wire
one was a wire that went straight to the positive battery
one went to a black with yellow stripe wire from the wiring loom
one went to a yellow with white stripe from the wiring loom

i connected the ford alternator such that the wire that used to go to the positive of the battery, connects to the 'S' on the alternator regulator,
and the yellow wire with white stripe from the loom goes to the 'L' on the regulator.
and obviously the chunky wire that goes to the battery from the B+ terminal on the alternator.
Currently i have nothing going anywhere for that little black wire with yellow stripe.

i get the same issue as chuck in this configuration, the light stays on constantly.
if i disconnect the yellow wire with white stripe from the regulator, the light on the dsah STILL stays on so it appears that the light is independent of working from that yellow wire with white.
i looked at the back of the instrumentation cluster and the terminal for the yellow/white wire goes through quite a few of the other circuits on the back of the cluster, all connected with a small bolt, the other wire that comes into the globe (and subsequently those bolts as well) is just a yellow wire that gets +12v when ignition is turned on. If i disconnect the globe i can hear a relay switching in the drivers side foot well. all the other gauges appear to still be working though so it looks like it isn't the globes yellow/white wire that completes the circuit for them.

did you disconnect this globe chuck and put a completely independent globe on it's own circuit in there or did you do something utilizing the globe but rerouted the wires somewhere.

help please regards barnsey