Initial Inspection - Charging System

When the charging system is operating normally the charge indicator lamp will come on when ignition switch is turned on and will go out when the engine starts. If the lamp operates abnormally, or if an undercharged or overcharged battery condition occurs. Diagnose and repair the charging system. Remember that an undercharged battery is often caused by accessories being left on overnight, or by a rear compartment or instrument panel compartment or instrument panel compartment lamp that stays on.

Noise from a generator may be caused by:
^ Loose drive pulley.
^ Loose mounting bolts.
^ Worn or dirty bearings.
^ Faulty diode.
^ Faulty stator.
^ Brush/slip ring friction.

IMPORTANT
^ To avoid damage to electrical equipment observe the following precautions:
- Do not reverse connections to the generator.
- Do not short across, or ground any of the terminals in the charging circuit, except directed by the instructions.
- Do not attempt to "hot wire" the generator by connecting B+ voltage to any of the generator 4-way connector terminals. Use only an approved test harness as described in these instructions.
- Never Disconnect the generator output while the generator is operating.
- Use only approved Metri-Pack terminal probe adapters to connect to terminals in the harness connector.
- Before connecting a charger or a booster battery to the vehicle battery, refer to Battery.

Inspect
^ Battery. Make sure the battery connection are clean and tight.
^ Built-in hydrometer in the battery. Green dot must be showing in hydrometer, and voltage across terminals with loads "OFF" should be above 12 volts.
^ Accessory drive belt for damage.
^ Battery. Make sure that the vehicle battery is in good condition and fully charged.
^ Drive belt for damage or looseness.
^ Wiring harness at generator. Make sure the harness connector is tight and latched. Make sure that the output terminal of the generator is connected to the vehicle battery positive generator lead.
^ All charging system related fuses and electrical connections for damage or looseness.