I've got a '71 Beetle that I just bought. I drove it around the neighborhood of the sellar and everything looked good. 5 min into driving it home on the freeway the generator light came on. Afer some testing, I replaced both the generator and the voltage regulator. All instructions were followed closely including polarization steps for both units. Once complete the light went off. I ran the car for about 10 min before driving. When I did drive, about 5 min into my drive on the freeway, the light came on again. Now it's not charging again. I re-checked all the connections and did the polarizations steps again on both units. Still not charging. Could some other component outside of the charging system cause such behavior? The only thing I can think of to do next is to replace the generator and voltage regulator again. Anybody got any ideas before I ruin another generator?

Thanks,
Mike B.

 

perhaps a bad ground or a bad connection from the alt to the battery?

 

How's the battery. I've been down that road and even a battery that checks good with a meter won't take a charge and with a load it fails. I have a 75 super and I had a alt light on, and it was the wiring through the rear firewall that chafed. I didn't see it until I lifted up the harness. Good place to look regardless.