yea i know its a dumb question but where is the alt located in the engine bay?i couldnt find it - tho i didnt remove the sheetmetal covers

just real unfamiliar with these cars so not sure where everythings at yet

reason i was looking is other day i went to start it to move it and the battery was too low to start- had to swap with a charged one and i cant test the alt unless i can find it heheh

also- now and then a red light at top of the far left gauge will light up- no words on it that i can make out and it doesnt always stay on

The alternator is on the drivers side of the engine. Stick your hand around the front and you'll feel the belt. Go get a Haynes ASAP. Best $20 you can spend for a new 914 owner.

hear ya on the manual- unfortunately due to low hours at work over the holidays ill be lucky to have all this months rent til the 19th- when it rains it pours dont it, also have to figure out how to either fix the shadow trans or get another daily driver my daughter can also drive

told her rule # 1 is NO ONE drives the porsche but me, and rule # 2 - please see rule # 1

QUOTE (McMark @ Jan 5 2006, 05:24 AM)

The alternator is on the drivers side of the engine. Stick your hand around the front and you'll feel the belt. Go get a Haynes ASAP. Best $20 you can spend for a new 914 owner.

Just make sure the engine is not running


PParts has some nice Tech info / photos on their website...I spent many hours going through their site back in 2001.

If the light you describe is red, and perhaps has a "G" symbol next to it, that's the alternator light. It should come on with the key, then go out with the engine running. If it comes on while you're driving, there's a charging system problem. If it comes on intermittently, it's most likely the alternator brushes are marginal, and need to be replaced. It MAY be a bad wiring connection, though. If it comes on and stays on, it's usually the voltage regulator that's died.

QUOTE (lincoln @ Jan 5 2006, 01:10 AM)

now and then a red light at top of the far left gauge will light up- no words on it that i can make out and it doesnt always stay on

Is the light a very large light that occupies most of the top half of the left-side gauge?

That's your brake warning light. It should blink when the handbrake handle is pulled up, or when the brake system detects an imbalance (e.g., a leak--such as when you bleed your brakes). The early cars, evidently, had the light come on solid for one of those circumstances and blink for another one.

Check for a recent thread with pictures of the brake master cylinder; it shows the warning switch and the button on the switch that you press to reset the switch after you bleed the brakes.

There are also other recent posts about fussing with the handbrake handle to get the light to go out.

--DD

DAVE! Not all brake warning switches have the button! This is a sensitive/pet-peeve issue for me. I spent a long time looking for the damn button when I was first starting out. In fact, I've never had a 914 that had a button.

If it's on the top of the guage and blinks...it's the brake warning / handbrake.

And you can test the alt without removing it.

And Mark, if you didn't find a button, you don't have the blinking handbrake light...all you would have is the brake warning light............

QUOTE (SLITS @ Jan 5 2006, 01:20 PM)

And you can test the alt without removing it.

Ron,

Can you explain the process for testing the alternator?

My alt. light stays on with engine running.

I have checked the belt, electrical connections and swapped out the voltage regulator to no avail.

It would be nice to be able to go have a beer after sunset.

Using a volt/ohm meter.........with ignition off, measure the voltage across the battery terminals...it should read about 12 VDC.

Start the engine and read across the battery terminals again....it should read in the 13-14 VDC range....

If not:

1.) The alt is no good ( since you already checked the wiring, relay board, VR, etc)

That's all folks............

Lincoln, you've got PM.