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I took my 164 for a proper drive today - about a 120km round trip, towing a trailer most of the way - and it behaved itself impeccably despite horrible weather conditions - lashing rain, wipers full-speed but not fast enough (clunk-click-clunk-click etc.), foglights going as I seemed to be driving through a cloud.
I wish I'd got the air conditioning fixed sooner, as I was soaking wet so it was difficult to keep the windows demisted. A timely reminder of how useful a/c is, even when it's not particularly hot outside, if it is extremely wet, a/c really helps. I'm getting a replacement compressor rebuilt ready for it.
Anyway I've noticed that the voltmeter sits at about 13V while driving. I noticed that when I switched on the heated rear window (which by the way works 100% now that I've fixed the melted fuse holder), the voltmeter needle dips slightly below 13V. Should this be the case or does this suggest that my alternator requires new brushes? Or is it likely to be an instrumentation fault?
My old (newer) 164 used to sit at nearly 15V on the gauge (maybe 14.4V).
The (fairly new) battery holds a charge very well - before I went away for a month, I removed the battery from the car, dosed it with conditioner and charged it fully, and it was still fully charged on my return. It's been in the car since then and after a few weeks, still cranks the engine well.
Thanks for any input on this before I decide to pull the alternator apart.
-Alex
I wish I'd got the air conditioning fixed sooner, as I was soaking wet so it was difficult to keep the windows demisted. A timely reminder of how useful a/c is, even when it's not particularly hot outside, if it is extremely wet, a/c really helps. I'm getting a replacement compressor rebuilt ready for it.
Anyway I've noticed that the voltmeter sits at about 13V while driving. I noticed that when I switched on the heated rear window (which by the way works 100% now that I've fixed the melted fuse holder), the voltmeter needle dips slightly below 13V. Should this be the case or does this suggest that my alternator requires new brushes? Or is it likely to be an instrumentation fault?
My old (newer) 164 used to sit at nearly 15V on the gauge (maybe 14.4V).
The (fairly new) battery holds a charge very well - before I went away for a month, I removed the battery from the car, dosed it with conditioner and charged it fully, and it was still fully charged on my return. It's been in the car since then and after a few weeks, still cranks the engine well.
Thanks for any input on this before I decide to pull the alternator apart.
-Alex