Hi All,

My 1986 740 with the 4 cyl turbo is making me nuts. The battery,
alternator, tensioning bracket and belt are new. I replaced the
battery because I didn't know how old the previous one was and it
died on me. The alternator, although having the correct output,
seemed to have a bent pulley, possibly related to the tensioning
bracket breaking and allowing the alternator to rock back and forth.
The problem now is the car won't hold a charge after I shut it off.
If I let it sit for a while it'll then start. Anyway, when the car is
running, I've checked the output of the alternator, which is good,
I've checked the battery, which is good, but the volt gauge on the
dash doesn't move when I start the car (it'll begin to climb after
several minutes of idling). Here are some things I'm thinking of: the
thin D+ wire at the back of the alternator was dry rotting so I taped
it up with electrical tape, clipped the end plug, and attached it
directly to the tab on the back of the alternator.
The upshift arrow for the overdrive comes on with more and more
regularity these days and needs to be replaced, and I just noticed
this morning that the bulb failure warning light on the dash is out.
So after all of that, here are my questions: Could the bulb
failure light have anything to do with the system not holding a
charge? What about the overdrive relay? Is there anything I'm missing
here?

Thanks Guys,

Jeff