So 3 weeks ago, my drivers' side dipped beam blew so I changed the pair for Halfords Advanced H3. This morning, right as I got to work, the passenger side dipped beam blew. Could there be a reason for this or is this just me being unlucky? As a heads up, I suspect it could be something to do with my new alternator as it has sudden surges of overcharging. On startup the headlights and dash are dim but if you rev the engine they brighten up to how they should be. The charge light stays on but the car runs perfectly fine. Charge was measured at 15.2 volts. My mechanic suspects that the alternator was made for versions of the car with more equipment as my 323f's biggest luxury is the electric sunroof.

Some of you may have noticed how often I am posting. Well, this is me trying to understand my beloved car more. Ever since I joined this forum you people have been nothing but helpful and kind. Thanks in advance.

It doesn't matter what the output of the alternator (within reason of course!) is the battery will compensate, this in my eyes is pointing to the regulator, 15.2 is too high really and the charge light shouldn't stay on either, you do have 3 wires connected to it?

As i remember Ba's have two types of alternators with different controls.
Could be that.
I'll check when i get back from work on my PC i believe i have info about that..

Phew..
found it:
https://www.bluehook.co.za:8181/Electro ... nators.pdf
Check the info inside!

Edit:
I belive that ours (BA's) alternators were PD and LS ones..

Thank you all for the responses. In light of the alternator overcharging, I have decided that tomorrow morning I will revert back to my old alternator, as well as change the water pump pulley while I'm at it (it seems to be the source of my drive belt squealing). Of course I will also change the dipped beam bulbs and that should be the end of my overcharging issues. It turns out that my old alternator, IS THE ORIGINAL ONE. It's 23 years old, AND IT STILL CHARGES CORRECTLY! The bearing is only slightly worn so it should be fine. If my alternator does go, I'll likely ask to get it regenerated and install it back on. I will report back tomorrow. And thanks again.

Borys,

had this exact same problem on an old car of mine years ago. Yes 15.2V is too high. It will boil off the battery water and damage the battery eventually and it WILL burn out incandescent (halogen) bulbs- it happened to me. Bulb life decreases exponentially with voltage. Halogen bulb life is generally not too high anyway-e specially for the "plus" output bulbs (e.g. +100%) etc. With a normal bulb you can expect a lifespan somewhere of the order of 200-400h, with a "plus" bulb, half that or less. And that's at 'normal' voltages of a "nominal" 12V (13.8V or so on the charging system).

Raise the voltage to 15V+ and you can probably measure the lifespan in minutes, if not seconds.

It seems the rough rule of thumb is: change the voltage by 5%, change the lifespan by a factor of 2 (+5% voltage= -50% lifespan), -5% voltage= double lifespan). I find I generally have few bulbs blow on older cars, as the old wiring introduces just enough voltage drop to increase the bulb lifespan.

See [url=http://www.frankshospitalworkshop.com/electronics/training_course_halogen_bulbs.html]here[/url] and [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halogen_lamp#Effect_of_voltage_on_performance]here too[/url].

[b]Patrick[/b]

[quote="pitrack_1"]Borys,

had this exact same problem on an old car of mine years ago. Yes 15.2V is too high. It will boil off the battery water and damage the battery eventually and it WILL burn out incandescent (halogen) bulbs- it happened to me. Bulb life decreases exponentially with voltage. Halogen bulb life is generally not too high anyway-e specially for the "plus" output bulbs (e.g. +100%) etc. With a normal bulb you can expect a lifespan somewhere of the order of 200-400h, with a "plus" bulb, half that or less. And that's at 'normal' voltages of a "nominal" 12V (13.8V or so on the charging system).

Raise the voltage to 15V+ and you can probably measure the lifespan in minutes, if not seconds.

It seems the rough rule of thumb is: change the voltage by 5%, change the lifespan by a factor of 2 (+5% voltage= -50% lifespan), -5% voltage= double lifespan). I find I generally have few bulbs blow on older cars, as the old wiring introduces just enough voltage drop to increase the bulb lifespan.

See [url=http://www.frankshospitalworkshop.com/electronics/training_course_halogen_bulbs.html]here[/url] and [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halogen_lamp#Effect_of_voltage_on_performance]here too[/url].

[b]Patrick[/b][/quote]

Hey, I changed back to the old alternator about 2 weeks ago and all is well now. No overcharging issues at all and the car runs as good as it did before.

When you removed the one from the car, did you put them together to see if they are any different?
Just wondering..

[quote="maZZda"]When you removed the one from the car, did you put them together to see if they are any different?
Just wondering.. [/quote]

They looked the same apart from the one mount. The old one I have on now is slightly different but I can't quite describe it.