LED Question :
 

Okay, many here have better electrical training than I do .

I wanted to put an LED in the battery (alternator) warning light and it doesn't work ~ won't illuminate no matter which way I put it .

I thought it would show the current going into the rotor energizing it .

Educate me please .

TIA,

LED Question :
 

You will need a resistor that equals the resistance of the original bulb in parallel with the LED.

A 5 watt 12 volt bulb should take a 30 ohm resistor to use an LED.

Thank you ! .

I don't see how the resistor will make the bulb light .

LED Question :
 

The light gets 12 volts to one side and negative through the alternator’s exciter circuit when the alt is not spinning or failed. When the alt is spinning the negative changes to positive and the light goes out. Basically, the LED is a low resistance diode and does not complete the circuit for the alt to energize the exciter circuit.

Okay ;

So why then can't it pass sufficient current to light up ? .

I figured it would only work one way .

I appreciate your answering my questions here .

LED Question :
 

The current flow through the dash lamp has to be high enough to provide sufficient current to bootstrap the field excitation. The resistance of the field (rotor) in such alternators is low (~7Ω), so it takes a 12V lamp with a resistance less than ~30Ω to supply enough current to get the alternator going.

The resistor will stand in for the bulb.

LED Question :
 

Keep in mind that the LED may glow or flicker when running due to the efficiency of the LED. Voltage loss across the circuit path could cause a different voltage on each leg of the LED causing it to glow/flicker. Although in my mind the resistor should be able to absorb small transient voltage swings if connected as close to the bulb as possible.

On this particular bulb I would just stick with a 5W bulb. The current through the bulb as you’ve astutely stated starts the field. The resistance also isn’t constant - that is you have some dynamics going on right as you turn the key due to the inductance of the field coil and the changing resistance of the bulb filament as it starts to glow. Both components are current limiting over the split second after you turn the key unlike a resistor. I wouldn’t mess with this just because I had to have an LED there. Just my 2c…that circuit is deceptively simple and you need it to work as designed to guarantee reliable charging.

If you put in a 30 ohm resistor in parallel that burns 5W make sure it can dissipate 5W. That is going to be one big warm resistor.

I think in the owner’s manual it says something like if the light doesn’t turn on at all take your car in immediately. So by bypassing the LED with a resistor you’re kind of bypassing the warning light from actually detecting the absence of the start current as you turn the key. In other words the absence of the glowing bulb is just as important as the glowing bulb and with a parallel resistor you’ve bypassed this indication.

I know, I’m being a nit picky nerd about it. My feeling is this LED mod on this particular circuit is actually a downgrade not an upgrade.

"Nit Picky"
 

IMO ;

Being nit picky is a good thing .

I am always learning new things .

I just like brighter lamps is all, I'll leave the charge lamp alone, I'm sure (I certainly HOPE !) all here know that when the Bosch alternator stops charging it doesn't turn the red dash lamp on.....

Guess how I and many others discovered this in a car with fully mechanical fuel injection ? :rolleyes: .

One more reason why I insist upon ONLY BOSCH or HELLA voltage regulators ~ they "leak" a tiny bit so the alternator is self energizing once it gets past 3,000 + RPM .

The shared knowledge and training here is priceless and far better than most of the factory / dealer / college training I've had over the decades .

LED Dash Illumination
 

I tried replacing the # 194 bulbs with LED's and wound up doing this :

Attachment 165743
The LED bulbs created a dead short in the bulb holders and the binnacle lamps are not fused as are the rest of the lamps, console etc.

I also discovered the little ground tab was broken off at it's solder joint so I soldered on a few strands of wire stripped from a factory loom :
Attachment 165743This is actually the spare gauge cluster I used, I have a few spare binnacles, all had the same break at the ground tab .

Fun :
Attachment 165746

All fixed and working better than ever, I installed a slight modification using factory wire and connectors and the freshly rebuilt speedo :

Attachment 165747