I opened up my dash yesterday and found that the "charge" and "oil" lights didnt have a bulb so i put one in and the "charge" still didnt work. Whats up with that? And the "oil" only worked when I turned my headlights on... very weird. Any ideas? Thanks.

My suggestion? Drive on soldier! Watch the guages, not the idiot lights

Ya, true. Good thing i have them.

Have your alternator checked. The lights not working seems to be an indication that something is wrong with the voltage regulator or diodes.

Ya cuz my ammeter guage goes up and down when i have my blinkers on... So can the voltage regulator be replaced or just the whole alternator?

Ya cuz my ammeter guage goes up and down when i have my blinkers on... So can the voltage regulator be replaced or just the whole alternator?

 

It's built into your alternator. I don't think swaping alts is going to make those two lights work.

For the cost of a working alternator you can get at Pull a Part, you'd be better off going that route rather than trying to replace the voltage regulator in your current alternator; besides I suspect your alternator may not be putting out from the symptoms you describe. A voltage regulator will only control voltage by limiting the upper range; it can't make up for drops in alternator output.

Ya cuz my ammeter guage goes up and down when i have my blinkers on... So can the voltage regulator be replaced or just the whole alternator?

Same thing with my oil light, bulb is okay, but it just won't light up with the rest.

If you are skilled at soldering you can replace the regulator for about $30, same with the brushes ($1.50). But, with diodes involved and such, you pretty much need to be somewhat experienced.

 

There definitely is a correlation between the idiot lights not working and alternator function. I've experienced it, as have others I've read comments from. You would think that with alternator failure you'd get a "charge" light, but it's not always the case. It was explained to me by someone who seemed to know what they were talking about that it has to do with one or more of the diodes burning out and not allowing voltage to the light curcuit.

There definitely is a correlation between the idiot lights not working and alternator function. I've experienced it, as have others I've read comments from. You would think that with alternator failure you'd get a "charge" light, but it's not always the case. It was explained to me by someone who seemed to know what they were talking about that it has to do with one or more of the diodes burning out and not allowing voltage to the light curcuit.

 

I've heard of it affecting ALL the idiot lights... but just two of them?