Battery Warning Light

Hey guys & gals,

I have a '93 200tdi defender. When it starts, the battery light stays on then soon dims to a 20% (just visable) constant glowing.
When cold, the battery measures a good 12-13Volts across the terminals, and a suitable increase is noticable when the engine is started, indicating that the alternator & battery are functioning correctly.
At the moment I am assuming (hoping & wishing) that the glowing is due to current leakage from another circuit. Does anyone have any ideas about this type of issue, is it an early warning that the alternator will die on me soon, or is this one of those annoying things I am just going to have to live with?

Any comments greatly appreciated.

The charge light does dim out, it usualy happens so fast you don't notice, but they do dim out as the alternator exceeds the battery voltage. My 90 will dim out slowly over a second or 2, or instantly if I give it a little blimp on the throtte to "switch" the charging circuit.

If its glowing, it could indicate that the alternator is not quite coping due to the alternator about to pack in, or a short or fault somewhere drawing excessive current that the alternator cannot keep up with, unlikely to be that though.

check the connector on the back of the alternator might just need cleaning



shanno

I reckon your alternators nertled. If it's one of the diodes thats gone and you know a good auto electrician he might be able to replace it.