I have owned this car for over a year and I must say that it has been the most trouble free car i have ever owned. She turned over 209,000 today! I bought her when she had 171,000. I love my SDL!

I have found the answer to the #1 problem. The battery light stays on after the engine has been shut down and the key has been removed from the switch. A search revealed that the "back out diode" or "rectifier" in the alternator has gone bad. I do not have the time to do the work myself so I will be replacing the alternator.

The other problems are as follows:

The aux fan fuse will get so hot that it turns blue, then charcoal, and then after a few weeks or months it will burn into. I dare not use the plastic "European" fuses. They melt within a few minutes of use. The aux fan spins freely. Seems to run all the time when the A/C is engaged.

At times the A/C compressor will disengage. I can open up the fuse box, remove the A/C compressor fuse then reinstall it and the A/C compressor will re-engage. It may go for weeks without giving trouble or it might give trouble two or three times in a day.

I am having some issues with vacuum pods/actuators under the dash. Last summer the A/C began to blow through the defroster vents as well as the center and side vents when it was set to only blow through the center and side vents. I disconnected the defroster vacuum pod/actuator rod to keep the A/C from blowing through those vents. This summer the A/C would begin to blow through the vents as it should (defroster still disconnected) but would then "drop out" and blow somewhere but not where I could tell. This problem is not as critical to me right now but i do want to address it in the very near future.

The glow plug light has always had a quirk about it. When the switch is first turned on there is no light. Turn it off and then back on and there is a light. Car starts great every time even when you don't have the light on (obviously you wait a few seconds before starting. The glow plugs are evidently functioning without the light but I want that light to work.

This is our only car for now and I want to keep it going on my own if I can so your expert help would be appreciated. I may not know exactly what to search for so if you can steer me in the right direction then I would appreciate that as well. The electrical issues have me concerned.

Kevin