Weird charging system fail

[NH575E]

I ran my hoe for a few hours yesterday and when I went to restart it the battery was weak. I checked and the alternator wasn't charging. The problem wasn't hard to find or fix because the wire had just broken off the B+ terminal.

The weird thing is the indicator light was still operating normally. It came on with the key on and went out when I increased the engine speed.

 

[Swetz]

The weird thing is the indicator light was still operating normally. It came on with the key on and went out when I increased the engine speed.

Hmm...I am now thinking it isnt so accurate.

 

[Dave Neubert]

The alternator was still charging just was not supplying the batterys

 

[NH575E]

Yeah the tach was still working also. Just wasn't connected to the battery any more.

 

[edgephoto]

If you had an ammeter you would have spotted it

 

[Delmer]

Maybe, maybe not, an ammeter only shows if the battery is charging or discharging. If it's not terribly precise, and most weren't, it didn't show if it was a slow charge because the battery was full, or a slow discharge because the battery was almost dead. A voltmeter is cheap these days, and is better than an ammeter or a charging indicator light. I suspect accurate voltmeters were much more expensive than ammeters back in the day, that's the only reason they were used.

 

[edgephoto]

I am forgetting about the low quality that used to be used. Old cars were the same. I am used to using precise equipment.