GEN light on most of the time...

my 68 was converted from a generator to an alternator long before i acquired it. for some reason, the GEN light on the dash is on pretty steadily. anyone know what would cause this? it doesn't seem to have any effect as the car still seems to run just fine. it will go out for a while every now and then, but it'll eventually come back on...not really seeing any pattern. anyone??

I thought 68's came with Alternators!

I thought 68's came with Alternators!

i'm unsure, but i thought the previous owner (my brother in-law) mentioned something about a generator...and i just assumed since the light on the dash says GEN that it originally had a generator. i could be wrong. either way, it's on almost all the time and i'd love to know what the possible causes could be.

I think GM went to the alternator in 1963. Don't have a clue why they kept the "GEN" light instead of calling it an "ALT" light.

Your car originally came with an alternator, not a generator - even though the idiot light in the dash still says 'GEN'.

I had this happen one time, pulled my hair out trying to figure out what it was. I changed the voltage reg, coil, battery, hooked up cables, everything an 19 y/o would do first - then I shut it off and looked at the loose alt belt! :yes:

So, make sure the belt is tight enough to turn the alt at the correct speed!

M

Dad had a generator light stay on in his 64 Impala one day. Drove him nuts until he had the alternator diagosed with a bad diode. Back then, alternators were cheap, and he was back in business for 25 bucks.

Things you could check is your battery negative terminal connection to the body of the car. I had a bad connection in this area on my 77 and the light was on now and then and dim. After redoing the connections the problem went away.
On my 73 I had a poor internal connection off of the wiring in the case of the alternator to the internal voltage regulator. The original connection was a crimped on ring terminal but after removing it, cleaning the wire end, crimping on a new terminal and then soldering it, the problem went away.
It could also be a loose belt or a glazed pulley (or if a chromed pulley, it may be too slick).

Jim