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Ignition Light

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Mark Sigfrinius

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Is it Lucas or is there really a problem? Took a drive in the '67 XKE today and noticed the ignition light was on whilst traveling down the road. The car is fairley new to me, however, I don't remember that light burning brightly on previous occasions. I drove about 30 miles prior to seeing the light on but got home safely. Shut the engine off and it started right up again. Being a Scotsman (cheap) how do I check this out myself? Thanks in advance!
 
Hello Mark,

"Is it Lucas",
No.

The warning light will illuminate with low voltage from the alternator or dynamo or on occassion with high voltage which means a defunct regulator. (The former is far more common.)
You don't say what knowledge or tools that you have but if the light is bright and you have little load, e.g. lights then the suggestion to check the fan belt is number one step. The car will drive so far without stopping if the system is not charging on the amount of charge in the battery but will eventually stop. If the fanbelt had broken then your car would have overheated in far less than 30 miles and could have caused some expensive damage. So if the light does not go out, check the fan belt straight away.

Alec
 
Check the ammeter, does it show a discharge?? And as well as the fanbelt check the wiring connections to the alternator and the control box to be sure none of them have come loose either from the terminal or the wire from the connector. You may also want to clean the connections if everything looks ok, just to ensure good contact. If none of this works to eliminate the light I'd say take the car to an auto shop that can test the components in place to see what may not be functioning. This is easier and faster than buying stuff to test youself.
 
Again thanks to everyone for their time to reply to my inquiry. BCF has great members who are willing to take the time to answer questions even from a non-mechanical, non-electrical guy like me. Even with the slight glitch the other day it was absolutely wonderful to drive the XKE on a bright and sunny day.
 
Again. Thanks to all. It ended up being the alternator. It wasn't alternating any more. I suppose I shouldn't complain because it's 40 years old. A new original replacement was over $400 so I found a local guy who rebuilds them from the ground up. $225 sounds reasonable including a guarantee. Red ignition light has been extinguished! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
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