GEN light stuck on - '66 225

[Guest]

Before it went to the mechanic the GEN light would come on during cranking then go out. Now the GEN light stays on, but my mechanic assures me that all is well and the car has not presented any issues. Any ideas?????

[Dave@Moon]

Hook up a volt meter to any live circut on the car prior to starting it. It should read battery voltage, about 12.5V. Watch the meter and start the car. It should jump to at least 13.2V or 13.5V after startup, possibly as high as 14V. If not, you're not getting a charge and the mechanic is wrong. At that point you'll have to dtermine whether you've got an alternator problem or voltage regulator problem. <P>If you've got a charge from the alternator, then the light circut is shorted. You'll have to trace that off of a wiring diagram. <P>good luck!

[Guest oldtimer]

also you could be charging ok but the reg. has some a/c leakage through it (enough to trip off the light). have your mechanic do a diode test.

[NTX5467]

As I recall, the light being on indicates that current is flowing backward through the indicator system for some reason, just as an amp gauge would read "-" instead of "+". Maybe everything bench checked ok but is not hooked up properly?<P>Perhaps you need to get a charging system check done with a machine (as a dealership would have) to load the system and check for current output and voltage under a variable load situation on the vehicle.