Note. See the warnings in Section General information and precautions.
1. If, when the ignition is turned on, the charge control lamp on the car's dashboard does not light up, first of all, check the reliability of the fastening of the generator wiring terminals. If the wiring is in order, check if the filament in the lamp has burned out, as well as the reliability of fixing its cartridge in the instrument panel. If, after the corrections made, the lamp still does not turn on, check for continuity in its power wire going to the cartridge from the generator. If the wire is in order, then there is an internal malfunction of the generator and the intervention of a specialist is required.
2. If the charge indicator lamp stays on after starting or comes on while the engine is running, turn off the engine and check that the drive belt is properly tensioned. Also make sure that the generator fasteners are not loose. If everything is in order, the generator should be delivered to a specialist workshop for inspection and repair.
3. If there is a suspicion of a deviation from the norm of the output voltage of the generator, despite the correct functioning of the control lamp, the condition of the voltage regulator should be checked.
4. Connect a voltmeter to the battery terminals and start the engine.
5. Raising the engine speed, achieve stabilization of the voltmeter readings.
Note. The reading should be 12 ÷ 13 V, and not rise above 14 V.
6. Turn on as many electrical consumers as possible (headlights, heated rear window, heater fan, etc.) and check that the output voltage remains at the same level (13÷14 V).
7. The voltage drop when consumers are turned on may be due to wear of the generator brushes, breakage of their springs, failure of the voltage regulator, diode malfunction, damage to the phase winding, or wear of sliding rings. The alternator must be replaced or taken to a specialist workshop for repair.