clocks circuit - battery charge ?

[jimbob-mcgrew]

i ran my car without clocks/speedo for several days, and after a day or 2, the wipers started to wipe slower, and the lights didnt illuminate as brightly. i just figured it was because everything was unplugged, and didnt fuss about it, carried on using the car as normal. a few more days later, all of a sudden i found myself unable to start the car after stopping for petrol.

i plugged the clocks back in before getting a jump start off a kind gentleman, to check the battery light wasnt on.

the car jump started fine, and drove home fine, and now the wipers were faster, and the lights were brighter.

does some part of the charge circuit run through the clocks ? or is my battery dead ?

i checked the car started on its own again once i got home, and it was ok.

i checked the battery with a multimeter, and it read 11.9 volts (more than i expected, just 20 mins after being too dead to crank)



ive topped up the battery water level a bit (it wasnt far off where it should be)
and ive got it on charge, to boost it back up.

bit confused.

[meritlover]

The alternator charge/excitation coils are driven through the charging lamp on the dash cluster. Sometimes the lamp has a resistor in parallel with the lamp so that if it blows, it still charges. If you remove both elements your alternator wont have been charging.

[Jack]

Yeah, the battery/charge warning light is part of the charge circuit. So if the bulb isn't there, or blows, the charge circuit isn't complete.

[jimbob-mcgrew]

thanks for clearing that up guys - thats good news

im suprised the car managed to function for so long like that. almost a week before it died. some night driving with lights on too. impressive