Suzuki Club UK

Hello Chaps,

Next problem for you brilliant minds to solve.

My temp gauge always under reads, even when fully hot, it barely moves from fully cold. In addition to this i have noticed that all of the dash lamps are very dim.
I have just had a new alternator kicking out 14,4volts at idle, and a new battery.

So where is the voltage regulator, i think i will have this out and inspect, and is the a common fault?

14.4 volts is fine. The voltage regulator is built into the alternator and can't be adjusted.

If the dash/clock assembly has not got a good earth it could cause the lights to dim and the temperature/fuel gauges to read incorrectly.

Darrell, Thanks for this, do you know where the main earth for these is located?

Nope
You could try running a wire from any earth pushed into the connection block (correct pin obviously ) and see if it fixes things. If it does I guess your have to chase that wire to earth or connect a new wire altogether.

My dad discovered that I've got a bad earth on my truck. He thought the headlights were dim so I had a poke with a wire and they got brighter when I earthed 'em directly to the battery.

Sounds like good examples to use a voltage drop test. Best way to check for a bad earth, if you have a voltmeter that is

It could just be that it has the wrong temp sender fitted?

My temp gauge reads just under half way at operating temp, more like a quarter of the way up the scale or just above that. I just assume thats correct as it runs fine at all times.

Whats everyone elses read?