Remove LED bulb from the warning light only.
My Baby is done... Thanks for all your help!!!!
- Thread starter scottevest
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Thanks. Dash is put back together so may be hard, but will advise Benny asap. Thanks.
PS: someone advised me to replace all other bulbs with LED to keep heat from harming things. Not sure how this impacts alternator issue.
Regular 4w bulbs are fine IMO.
PS: ebay seller says:
"If you look at the picture attached, we circled where the dash light is supposed to go to. You can run a ignition power with an inline resistor to activate the alternator."
I am passing all this information to Benny, but I'm betting that old alternator was ok, and if we follow these instructions, we should be fine and can return new alternator. Not sure which "warning light" @HB Chris is referring to but hoping it is obvious to Benny.
Thanks again.
"If you look at the picture attached, we circled where the dash light is supposed to go to. You can run a ignition power with an inline resistor to activate the alternator."
I am passing all this information to Benny, but I'm betting that old alternator was ok, and if we follow these instructions, we should be fine and can return new alternator. Not sure which "warning light" @HB Chris is referring to but hoping it is obvious to Benny.
Thanks again.
The red alternator warning light in your combo gauge in the dash. That gauge pulls out easily with no dash disassembly. And you leave all the wires attached too, easy.
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Go figure! Wasn't me. I'm all for LED tech but I like the look of incandescent gauges on an old car.
Some alternators require a resistive load to generate current for the field winding. This is a very common issue old cars that are restored.
This would explain why your no-charge problem happened right after your car was restored.
Easiest thing it to put back your old incandescent bulb. Or, another quick solution is to stick a 5watt resistor (5-10 ohms) in parallel with the led light circuit.
thanks. will this require removal of dash/wood, or can it be done otherwise?
You can reach this bulb from under the dash and pull it out, no need to even remove the combo gauge then swap the bulb.
Can't these alternators be bench tested? Both the old and new?
Scott,
I like dual tip exhausts on '60's and 70's cars
But I do like the look of a single tip on our E9's. I've personally only seen one car that had one.
Don't know if it is easy to get one fitted on...
Nope. :eek:
Thanks so much for showing me. Upon reflection I agree. Just need a simple chrome piece to go over it I think and call it a day
While I wouldn't doubt anything Chris posts, I had a hard time believing this bulb was that accessible. So I just went out and tried it. And, of course, it is exactly as Chris noted. A simple arm reach up and I popped the bulb socket out. No need to take anything apart.
Regarding the twin tipped exhaust, my opinion is that it looks very unfortunate on the e9 (sorry, NC COUPLADY - just my opinion).
While I wouldn't doubt anything Chris posts, I had a hard time believing this bulb was that accessible. So I just went out and tried it. And, of course, it is exactly as Chris noted. A simple arm reach up and I popped the bulb socket out. No need to take anything apart.
Regarding the twin tipped exhaust, my opinion is that it looks very unfortunate on the e9 (sorry, NC COUPLADY - just my opinion).
I feel like an idiot for thinking that you would have to remove the dashboard to change a lightbulb. Hopefully Benny and Gary will be able to sort out the alternator and I can return the new one to the eBay seller. I will deal with conversion to LED lights at a later date. I just want to get it on the road. The dual tip really looks bad imo
She is a member here...
Oh, no doubt. I thought long and hard about expressing my opinion before doing so. But I thought that we could all stomach one opinion in the open forum.
I am sure there will be 7 or 8 things that I do to my car that some don't like. I'm prepared to face that head on. 
Talking about twin tips, if I'm not wrong this is Paul C's car, this looks better since the body is modified to accept two tips, but would be even better if they came up 1 - 1½" more.
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Agree - these seem to be fitted nicely to the rear valence and they do not project out and up as much. Perhaps that is what was catching my eye above. :eek: Thanks for the additional pics...
Yes. Note sure how well I can explain this, but I will give it a try. The alternator light that indicates low voltage from the alternator is actually part of the circuit that the alternator uses to determine how much current to send into the car to cover the current being consumed and to charge the battery. When the current flow from the battery side of the circuit exceeds the current flow from the alternator, the alternator increases its output to match. The alternator determines this current flow using voltage received from the battery and Ohms law (voltage/resistance = current), with the resistance employed being the sum of the resistance in the wire from the battery to the dash bulb plus the resistance of the bulb plus the resistance of the wire from the bulb to the alternator. When you replace an incandescent bulb with an LED, you are changing the resistance of this circuit. This then gives a false signal of current usage to the alternator causing the alternator to output the wrong current.
If the LED bulbs have much lower resistance than the incandescent bulbs, the voltage flowing from the battery to the alternator would be higher signalling to the alternator less current usage than is actually occurring in your car and less need to charge the battery.
If the LED bulbs have much lower resistance than the incandescent bulbs, the voltage flowing from the battery to the alternator would be higher signalling to the alternator less current usage than is actually occurring in your car and less need to charge the battery.