Alternator wiring

[ian.stewart]

My little poser at the moment is my new alternator, Dihatsu Chirade GTTi doner, 3 terminals, 1 large is obviously outfeed, Normally I ignore one of small terminals and run the second to the charge light,
How does this work, is it a 12v feed from the alternator to earth via bulb then to earth or is it a 12v feed to the alternator via a bulb,
Ive checked the alternator with a live feed to it from the battery onto the main power stud, and checked the outfeed from the 2 terminals on the back of the alternator, one reads 0v and the other reads 1.3v, certainly not enough to light the warning lamp, is the alternator fubared or am I doing something wrong.??
Ian

[stevieturbo]

normally the ignitor wire grounds the alt light.

So the alt light on the dash has an ign +12v, and the alternator supplies it with an earth to illuminate.

Its the current draw from this lamp, that switches the alt on for talks sake, and allows it to charge.
If that wire is broken, or the lamp not working, it wont charge.

Thats how most setups work, but not all. If you have more pins than normal, it might be worth asking a local autospark to check it out.

[ian.stewart]

Got sent this link last night, bout sums up all my questions in one,
http://www.westfield-world.com/daihatsu_alternator.html
Ian