amp light stays on when running

jugdish · October 5th, 2009, 11:38 PM

Howdy,
I can't figure out what's going on and any help would be greatly appreciated.

Working on my 69 delta 88 conv. I have a new alternator, new voltage regulator and new battery.
When the car is running, the amp light stays on and goes off when the car isn't running.
Battery volts with a multimeter while running is 15 and 11.68 when the car is off. That tells me the battery is charging.
I checked the volts on the #2 wire at the voltage regulator while running, as suggested by the chassis manual, and the volts are 3.68. That indicates the voltage regulator is OK.
Batt, alt and reg are new, so it appears things are as they should be.
Currently, I don't drive it because I don't want to chance getting stuck with a dead battery somewhere. So, I disconnect the battery when not working on it so I don't know if there is a short somewhere.
The other part I'm not too smart about it the fuseblock. The tangs are rusted to the point they will probably crumble if I touch a fuse. I have a new block to put in, but am not sure if it relates to the amp light problem.

At least I've learned "hope is not a strategy"

Thanks,
Sean

svnt442 · October 6th, 2009, 12:06 AM

You'd be amazed what bad/crusty wiring can do.

Oldsguy · October 6th, 2009, 07:13 AM

Since the car is a convertible is it possible the top has been down or damaged to cause that corrosion? Take a further look into that matter, your junction block may need some maintenance or replacement. This shouldn't affect your charging circuit though but may affect the indicator lamp. If the contacts on the junction block are bad your charging circuit could be good but the indicator lamp is getting a poor signal from the alternator. Also, check the primary wires from the battery to the starter/charger/ and the block. Look for corrosion under the insulation or poor terminal ends that are corroded. Like Randy said, corrosion is bad news for wiring.

jugdish · October 6th, 2009, 09:49 AM

You hit it on the nose. The previous owner must have left the top down quite a few times. There is a fair amount of rust on everything under the dash. The fuseblock is in awful shape. I tried to take out a fuse and the metal tangs literally disintegrated.

I have sanded terminal ends at the starter, ground to the engine block and battery cable at the alternator. It didn't cross my mind about the additional problems under the dash that could be posing the problem. Must be tunnel vision.

So you're saying one possibility is the bulb for the amp light may not be getting a good ground and is lighting up? Makes sense to me and will investigate with a reply.

Thanks for the help.

October 5th, 2009, 11:38 PM	#1 (permalink)
jugdish Registered User Join Date: May 2009 Location: Seattle, Wa Posts: 6	amp light stays on when running Howdy, I can't figure out what's going on and any help would be greatly appreciated. Working on my 69 delta 88 conv. I have a new alternator, new voltage regulator and new battery. When the car is running, the amp light stays on and goes off when the car isn't running. Battery volts with a multimeter while running is 15 and 11.68 when the car is off. That tells me the battery is charging. I checked the volts on the #2 wire at the voltage regulator while running, as suggested by the chassis manual, and the volts are 3.68. That indicates the voltage regulator is OK. Batt, alt and reg are new, so it appears things are as they should be. Currently, I don't drive it because I don't want to chance getting stuck with a dead battery somewhere. So, I disconnect the battery when not working on it so I don't know if there is a short somewhere. The other part I'm not too smart about it the fuseblock. The tangs are rusted to the point they will probably crumble if I touch a fuse. I have a new block to put in, but am not sure if it relates to the amp light problem. At least I've learned "hope is not a strategy" Thanks, Sean

October 6th, 2009, 12:06 AM	#2 (permalink)
svnt442 Registered User Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: San Jose, CA Posts: 455	You'd be amazed what bad/crusty wiring can do. __________________ Randy 1970 442

October 6th, 2009, 07:13 AM	#3 (permalink)
Oldsguy Hot Rodder at heart Administrator Join Date: May 2004 Location: Lees Summit MO Posts: 5,360	Since the car is a convertible is it possible the top has been down or damaged to cause that corrosion? Take a further look into that matter, your junction block may need some maintenance or replacement. This shouldn't affect your charging circuit though but may affect the indicator lamp. If the contacts on the junction block are bad your charging circuit could be good but the indicator lamp is getting a poor signal from the alternator. Also, check the primary wires from the battery to the starter/charger/ and the block. Look for corrosion under the insulation or poor terminal ends that are corroded. Like Randy said, corrosion is bad news for wiring. __________________ Dan '77 Cutlass Supreme '46 2 door "The rocket 455.....it's a sledgehammer approach to a thumbtack world" LuxBlue of HAMB.

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October 6th, 2009, 09:49 AM	#4 (permalink)
jugdish Registered User Join Date: May 2009 Location: Seattle, Wa Posts: 6	You hit it on the nose. The previous owner must have left the top down quite a few times. There is a fair amount of rust on everything under the dash. The fuseblock is in awful shape. I tried to take out a fuse and the metal tangs literally disintegrated. I have sanded terminal ends at the starter, ground to the engine block and battery cable at the alternator. It didn't cross my mind about the additional problems under the dash that could be posing the problem. Must be tunnel vision. So you're saying one possibility is the bulb for the amp light may not be getting a good ground and is lighting up? Makes sense to me and will investigate with a reply. Thanks for the help.