Maybe I never paid attention to this before but last night as my 223 was warmed up idling when I turned on the headlights, the RPMS dropped off a bit. It didn't stall but you can tell the difference. Is this normal or do I have a possible electrical gremlin lurking? I still run stock 6v pos ground.

 

Not sure on a 6v system but I know when you put a load such as headlights or even heater fan you can tell the engine slows just a touch. I look at it as a indication that the charging system is working. Our newer vehicles with efi you cant tell cuz the idle will jump up under load. On my old plow truck the idle goes down some when I raise or tilt the plow.

 

The energy required for running the headlights is not a godsend. It is coming right out of the engine which has to drive the -now harder- working generator. So, yeah, you probably just didn't notice it before.

 

Thanks guys.

 

I'm surprised that there was a difference if the engine was at normal idle. Usually the generator isn't producing anything at idle, it's all coming out of the battery, so you wouldn't see a difference. It could be your battery is so low that the generator was charging it at idle, might be worth having the battery checked out. Did you crank the engine an unusually long time?

 

Thanks Ross. The Battery is an Optima Red Top and about 3 years old. No, I didn't have to crank it over too much however since I haven't had it out on a good run, maybe the battery could be a bit low. Another thing I did note was that my Voltage Regulator was warm-not hot. But then again it could be from engine compartment heat.