For a long time after cars went to alternators the light still said "GEN". It was just a common usage as people were not comfortable yet with alternators but knew what a generator was. As generally used in automotive practice a generator produces D/C and an alternator produces A/C (which is converted to D/C internal to the alternator). Generators were replaced about the same time cars went from 6 volts to 12 volts, back in the 50's. Also negative ground became the standard way of grounding for most cars about the same time. Since this isn't really Delorean specific I am sure you can find out more about this subject in other areas. David Teitelbaum vin 10757 --- In dmcnews@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, "daviddlasvegas" <daviddlasvegas@...> wrote: > > Continuing with the car electrical comments ... > > Cars today have documentation in the manual for "alternators" and the > tell tale light says "ALT" for alternator (or is the symbol of a > battery). > > But I have 2 late 1970s cars in my family, and the tell tale light > says "GEN" for generator. > > Is there a difference between an 'alternator' and a 'generator' or are > the two terms used interchangeably with regard to cars? > > Also here is a question I get no one can answer... > > While not the case on the DMC, GM cars from the 1970s-80s had "GEN" > tell tale lights. If you turned the key into accessory mode, all the > tell tale lights illuminated. But the "GEN" light was always dimmer > than the others. Why was it dimmer? > To address comments privately to the moderating team, please address: moderators@xxxxxxxxxxx For more info on the list, tech articles, cars for sale see www.dmcnews.com To search the archives or view files, log in at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dmcnews Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dmcnews/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dmcnews/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:dmcnews-digest@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx mailto:dmcnews-fullfeatured@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: dmcnews-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/