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Bill Parenteau wrote:It would be very easy to do that but, it would be one more thing to go wrong not allowing you to start the car. The light works quite well at getting your attention.

And an engine shutting off in mid-pack of 35-car start could be kinda, well, interesting.

That said, a big, fat, bright red warning light needs to become standard equipment on all new Spec Racers. The original "light" is freaking useless. I mean, how much is that going to add to the cost of the car? What? Five bucks?

An alternator failure, in addition to a belt loss, will also trip the light, so it's not a "magic bullet" indicating an imminent engine failure. My AIM dash indicated two warning conditions when I lost a belt within 10-15 seconds; one low voltage and another high water temp, in which case I switched off the car and, fortunately, was able to coast back to pit lane safely.

I'd suggest a temperature warning light set at 230 would be a more reliable indicator of a potential lost belt issue. I recall earlier discussions about a separate sensor for the belt alone, which could be the best option when connected with a bright (flashing?) light.

Shutting off the engine automatically is risk, especially in you get a "false positive" signal; then again, an engine failure in the middle of a 35 car pack is likely to be worse!

Wonder what would happen if you triggered the pit speed limiter instead?

I installed the "CDS" belt loss solution, which is pretty simple: a wheel speed sensor with a magnet on the alternator pulley. And the big red light others recommended on this thread. But having the experience of losing a water hose (Check those clamps, mine are now double, as the car had 4+ hours on it when that happened) once the water is gone the temp probe is useless and the car overheats quickly. The oil temp is another source of data for a warning.

I have a 2 stage alarm programed in for a belt loss. I do not remember what the value is but I set off the first alarm for when the voltage goes below a set value maybe 13 volts which makes me vigilant about keeping a lookout for a second light and shutdown message at 230 degrees. I figure if I have both alarms at the same time I have lost the belt. Funny thing is I still have the dinky old red alternator light from the Gen2 and that is the first thing I noticed when I lost the belt the last time!

steve kramer wrote:I installed the "CDS" belt loss solution, which is pretty simple: a wheel speed sensor with a magnet on the alternator pulley. And the big red light others recommended on this thread. But having the experience of losing a water hose (Check those clamps, mine are now double, as the car had 4+ hours on it when that happened) once the water is gone the temp probe is useless and the car overheats quickly. The oil temp is another source of data for a warning.

I started keying my alarms on oil temp rather than water temp last year after losing an engine at Road America. Water temp never rose above 215. All the water had drained out due to a defective radiator cap. Oil temp was at 260 when the engine finally quit.

I've set my voltage alarm to act as a double check, along with the water temp gauge, for belt loss when the light triggers. I'm not a big fan of putting a belt sensor on there and having yet having yet another damn thing to work around worry about when the same can be accomplished with a voltage alarm and warning light.

I use an LED light that runs off of the alternator. I used the same wires for the original light and it works fine. Fortunately, I have not had to use it on track, but it lights up every time I turn on the ignition switch to start the car.

Does anybody else have to blip the throttle at start to make the red 'alternator' light go out during idling?

Yes. Have to blip above 3,000 before charging kicks in. Think it has something to do with the connection to the alternator light (mine doesn't work) that's needed to add load to the alternator at low RPM. Gave up trying to chase it down as I have dash readings from my AIM system that trip alarms as needed and are more reliable than the alternator light.

Jparris wrote:Does anybody else have to blip the throttle at start to make the red 'alternator' light go out during idling?

If you still have your old Alt/charge light, remove it from the bezel so it’s just the bulb with wires and tap it into you current light set up at the back of the dash. The old light has a certain resistance that turns on the alternator. You can run both lights (the old one on the back of the dash for resistance) that turns on the alternator at idle.

Both lights will turn on when there is no ALT charge but you’ll never see the one on the back of the dash.

Good luck!