Slow but steady progress...electrical stuff (i hate it!)

[vwfye]

good thing i ahve another alternator coming to my door next week! man, i just want to drive this car some! it just purrs

[MGVWfan]

I'm suspecting the slight charge rate comes from a set of brushes that are marginal and have a bit too much resistance, thus causing a low charge rate, or a diode or two open in the positive or negative rectifier packs. If you'd told me the voltage goes up almost immedately to 13.5 or above, I'd suspect a battery with an cell going bad, but there's also the alternator lamp still lit that points back to the alternator. If the alternator is working OK, the lamp goes out. The lamp lighting up by itself doesn't necessarily point to the alternator alone, but given that you've replaced the regulator with one you know to be good (true?), the only other possibility is a bad alternator. Just for grins, what's the battery voltage under cranking load? If it's something like 10V (after a fresh charge), the battery's OK.

[DeathBus]

Concur.

Long answer...
The charge lamp staying lit tells you that one side of the lamp has +12V from the battery, and the other side is grounded through the field and regulator, indicating the exciter diode trio isn't producing any juice for whatever reason. All the reasons why the trio isn't providing juice mean an alternator pull and replacement (bad trio, bad negative rectifier diodes, bad field winding, bad slip rings, bad brushes).

I like it when people can describe what I want to, but stumble over typing out!

[MGVWfan]

Welcome you are!

[vwfye]

hey mgvwfan... thanks!

btw, i never, ever had a problem with my 2 fuse lucas electrical system in my a/h sprite! that was a great little car! (especially with the 140hp highly modified A motor in it

[MGVWfan]

You, sir, were fortunate! Lord Lucas, the Lord of Darkness!

Lucas headlamp switch...three positions, DIM, FLICKER, and OFF

I got around the Lucas problems in my '67 B by installing a Mitsubishi alternator, Hitachi dizzy, Honda radiator fans, and a Saturn fuse/relay box.

Bugeye Sprite?

140 HP from an A-Series, that's HUGE dude! That'd be like 200+ from a T4 engine!

[vwfye]

box sprite 1968... 1275cc punched out with every trick that Vizard used in his book! That was my one forray away from VWs that wasn't US made. great little car except for turning 7k rpm on the freeway in eye-duh-hoe

[DeathBus]

You, sir, were fortunate! Lord Lucas, the Lord of Darkness!

Lucas headlamp switch...three positions, DIM, FLICKER, and OFF

I got around the Lucas problems in my '67 B by installing a Mitsubishi alternator, Hitachi dizzy, Honda radiator fans, and a Saturn fuse/relay box.

Bugeye Sprite?

140 HP from an A-Series, that's HUGE dude! That'd be like 200+ from a T4 engine!

Ive got one of those switches in my 4 door!

[MGVWfan]

Where's that Spridget now? Sounds like a screamer, a real buzz bomb.

DB, I feel your pain

[vwfye]

the sprite is somewhere in north idaho now... i traded it for a notchback i had. the only down side to that engien was i went from 38mpg to 19

[MGVWfan]

I'd believe it. My 100 hp B-Series gets something like 23 in town, 29 on the highway.

[vwfye]

big healey... yummmm! electric overdrive?

[DeathBus]

My 90 HP Bus Type 4 will get about 24 with dual Kads if I baby it, If I use my foot I get about 16!

[albert]

allo,vwfye , last tree weeks my 412 wagon 73 geeve me the same problem , dash light open by alternance , (gen, and brake light) and for to save the time ,i change my régulator ,same thing, my last solution , the alternator, i remoove the muffler , heat steel protector , fan belt cover , alternator cover , right side round steel heather pipe from électric fan, i remoove only the flat head screw from the head steal cover ( only the screw , not the head steel cover ) you have appx. 8 flat head screw to remoove , and you have alternator in your face , 2 bolts for alt. ok now afther that i go to my alt.shoop and the guy said me ,if your car stay long période stop , the brush inside squize or rust or any reason , and some time she geeve power or stop , wend you open your alt, make attention , some time just push on the brush wuith smal sceew driver and she is ok, but for good job revise complettly all the parts , diode and the rest , plus on my alt. i find the main red wire was burn and rust , the rubber protector was burn too , i change by old spark plug 90 degrées rubber insulator ( just cut and adap. )now i thing you can do the job ,, if i d,t remoove the heather box it was for one reason , the heather box bolt on the head was rust and hi have risk to break the bolt in the head ,, make attention for that ,,,,albert

[DeathBus]

To get the fan shroud off and back on the engine you HAVE to take off the heater boxes. Now Albert gives a good caution here. The manifold studs can become very weak over time and some WILL BREAK OFF IN THE HEAD, this will lead you down a path of pure frustration. You can get the alternator off without taking the boxes off. BUT YOUR MANIFOLD STUDS WILL NEED TO BE FIXED EVENTUALLY ANYWAY. Your decision. Just remember when putting your alternator back on when not removing the shround, you should buy a BRAND NEW COOLING BOOT and put it on the alternator FIRST. Then you can use a popsicle stick to put the boot back on the shroud, not the easiest thing to do, but it can be done.