So for the electrical problem i had in my car, my headlight switch would become very hot when i drove my car, so hot in fact that it fried one switch and I had to replace it, that is when i discovered the problem. Anyway I replaced the voltage regulator on my alternator because I thought that might be the problem. Now my headlight switch doesn’t get hot but when I’m driving around 60 or with fewer rpm’s, when I turn on my A/C, the battery gauge in my car drops back from the A to the O, then comes back to about where it should be normally, and waves back and forth between the M and the L in NORMAL on the gauge.
It didn’t do this before I changed the voltage regulator. Is it my alternator? Could this be related in any way to an ignition switch that I changed out before all this began happening? I tested my battery first, and am fairly certain that it is not the problem.
I believe there is a bad connection somewhere, as my battery gauge is more positive than normal. Last summer my ignition cylinder went out and pinched my key in half. I replaced it with a cheaper one (I was sort of broke at that time) and when i have my door open it chimes with no keys but when my keys are in the ignition it does not chime, except when I turn on my headlights. I believe this may have been about the time that all the other problems began. If anyone has any insight to what this may be caused by please please let me know, I’ve been trying to think of what this could be and how to fix it for over a year. Thanks for your help!!
Have you measured the idle-charging voltage with a DVM at the battery? What does it measure immediately on the first start of the day, then after idling for 10 minutes?
its a cheap universal ignition switch that cost me $25. We checked the battery and it read normal, however we didn’t check it ten minutes later. But the problem starts right away. Everything that draws electricity seems to affect the gauge, from the AC to the signal switch.
