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Car Forum / Subaru Cars / October 2006Dash Lights still dimming at Idle......more
Well if anyone remembers I had an alternator failure, ended up replacing the alternator and battery. Well at idle when I applied the brake pedal, my interior dash lights, headlights, etc would dim. If the blower is on high it will slow. Sometimes they recovered and sometimes they did not and would stay dim until I released the brakes. I said the heck with it and swapped out the new alternator for another unit (Hitachi). The lights are still dimming at idle. And like I said sometimes the alternator will recover and other times it will not. I can understand if there is a very heavy load on the alternator, but even if I have the interior lights on only, apply the brakes, the interior lights will dim. I took it to a good mech he said everything was fine and that the voltage drop is normal at idle. This is the first car that I have had, that when at idle the alternator has trouble putting out enough power. Anyone have more ideas? Thanks, Matt 1996 Subaru Outback wagon > Well if anyone remembers I had an alternator failure, ended up > replacing the alternator and battery. Well at idle when I applied the [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > Matt > 1996 Subaru Outback wagon Did someone own the car before you and perhaps put an underdrive pulley on it?(smaller than stock crank pulley) That would reduce alt. output somewhat. That's all I got. Other than refreshing all the ground connections as suggested earlier. Carl  Signatureto reply, change ( .not) to ( .net) Might want to check the battery for a bad cell. Check all battery grounds. > Did someone own the car before you and perhaps put an underdrive pulley on > it?(smaller than stock crank pulley) That would reduce alt. output > somewhat. > > That's all I got. Other than refreshing all the ground connections as > suggested earlier. Uh....Carl.....smaller makes it spin FASTER..........it would put out MORE..not less....... >>Did someone own the car before you and perhaps put an underdrive pulley on >>it?(smaller than stock crank pulley) That would reduce alt. output [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > Uh....Carl.....smaller makes it spin FASTER..........it would put out > MORE..not less....... Uh,,,,,Eric....I said CRANK (not alt.)pulley - decreased circumference at the SAME engine RPM = less distance traveled. I think??? whatever - there are folks who swap out crank (and, indeed, access.) pulleys for lighter - and sometimes smaller CRANK, pulleys. Redused rotating mass and quicker 'spin-up' of the engine. Like a lighter flywheel sorta. lol! Carl Signatureto reply, change ( .not) to ( .net) >>>Did someone own the car before you and perhaps put an underdrive pulley >>>on it?(smaller than stock crank pulley) That would reduce alt. output [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > > Carl OK..i see what you mean :) Good thing they dont know an alternator eats between 3 and 5 hp....they might get rid of that too for more power... > Good thing they dont know an alternator eats between 3 and 5 hp....they > might get rid of that too for more power... Trust me, they do. So this is something that I should not worry about? Thanks for all the help. Matt Well. Depends on if you worry about what is normal or not. It's normal forget it. (Also note from my previous post, there is a solinoid that opens the switch to move the shifter that enages too, so you may notice the dimming while in park (when the switch has to go) and not in drive because the electrical draw on the circuit is different.) > So this is something that I should not worry about? > > Thanks for all the help. > > Matt > So this is something that I should not worry about? You got it. -- Todd H. 2001 Legacy Outback Wagon, 2.5L H-4 Chicago, Illinois USA > Anyone have more ideas? I agree with the mechanic. Some dimming at idle with the increase of load on the engine and brake lights with the brake pedal, that does slow the alternator a bit. I only notice this when my fan is running on 3 or 4 though. Dunno if that helps. Signature-- Todd H. 2001 Legacy Outback Wagon, 2.5L H-4 Chicago, Illinois USA > I took it to a good mech he said everything was fine and that the > voltage drop is normal at idle. This is the first car that I have had, > that when at idle the alternator has trouble putting out enough power. Not a question of alternator. Its a question of post-voltage regulator amps to power 4 lights or 9 lights. Think about it as a flashlight battery (the cicuit the lights and switches that turn the lights on and off). There is X amout of amps doing Y amount of light power. If you take X amount and divide it by Y + Z light power, what happens if it's evenly distributed? Less power to the bulb and a dimmer light. On the headlights, it's noticable. If the regulator is not letting more power through, it could be a design flaw, or a design to keep the lights from using too much juice when you need it elsewhere. Yeah, it's a little worrying the first time you notice. But it is not unusual for a Scoob. |
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