Budman1758
New Member
Searched most of the forums here and did not find an exact answer to this one. I have and old vehicle and have installed a newer 1 wire GM alternator in it. These alternators do not have provision for the "idiot" light on the dash. What I am looking for is a simple circuit that will trigger a relay to operate the light. I want it to light at just under 13 volts and go out at just over 13 volts. (or thereabouts)
I had thought I could just use a 13v zener diode but it seems to require a little more than that. I tried to put the zener inline thinking it would conduct "backwards" when the voltage went above 13 volts but it seems they don't work quite like that. There is an outfit that sells something exactly for this purpose but the voltage is set at 11 volts and they want 30 bucks and 10 bucks to ship the darn thing. Diodes are much cheaper. :>)
Anybody have a simple circuit in their back pocket that will do this? Any help would be much appreciated.
I had thought I could just use a 13v zener diode but it seems to require a little more than that. I tried to put the zener inline thinking it would conduct "backwards" when the voltage went above 13 volts but it seems they don't work quite like that. There is an outfit that sells something exactly for this purpose but the voltage is set at 11 volts and they want 30 bucks and 10 bucks to ship the darn thing. Diodes are much cheaper. :>)
Anybody have a simple circuit in their back pocket that will do this? Any help would be much appreciated.