From: Kevin Berez [Kaberez@mindspring.com]
Sent: Tuesday, May 28, 2002 9:08 PM
To: 928
Subject: [928] Re: Voltmeter problems

Bob,

Actually there is a pot adjustment on the side of the volt meter. What I did
was temporarily reconnect the pod, hooked a voltmeter at the battery ( or
use the jump post) to a ground, started the car and adjusted the volts.  Did
that a couple of weeks back and been very happy since.

Wish it was that weasy to get the friggin' gas gauge to ready correctly. :)

Kevin

'86.5
'85




From: Wally Plumley [mailto:wplumley@bellsouth.net]
Sent: Saturday, June 08, 2002 11:31 PM
To: 928
Subject: [928] Re: ammeter


At 10:03 PM 6/8/02, David Lustick wrote:
>Today I drove to work.  No problem.
>After I started the car to go home, I noticed that the ammeter went to zero,
>but the car continued to function fine.  It would not move a bit.  When I
>arrived home and turned the car off, I observed no movement in the needle,
>but I did notice the red light go on underneath.
>Any ideas on where I should look tomorrow for the problem?


First - the gauge on the instrument panel is a voltmeter, not an ammeter - 
the difference is critical. The voltage on your 928 should never be zero as 
long as there is a live battery in the car. It should show battery voltage, 
or charging voltage. If the voltmeter goes to zero, and the car still 
functions, there is a gauge problem. One common problem is in the printed 
circuit board that connects the instruments.

On the other hand, if the voltmeter reads battery voltage and no charging 
voltage, there may be a problem with the alternator.

The charging light is actually separate from the voltmeter. The light and a 
68 Ohm resistor are connected in parallel to supply the excitation current 
to the alternator. A light that is on with the ignition switch off is often 
a sign of a bad diode in the alternator.

You can pull the alternator and take it to a good automotive electrical 
shop for testing and repair.

Wally Plumley
928 Specialists