Bypassing the Gen 2 Light (12v conversion)

[redwolf3]

Hey guys-
Well, in my quest to perform some upgrades while fixing some issues on the M1009, I ran into a question/issue. From reading around, it sounds like the "Gen 1" and "Gen 2" lights serve an integral in the charging system of the Stock M1009. In my case, I have converted from 24v to 12v, but I believe that the Gen 2 light is still required for proper operation of the alternator and charging system.

What I'm wondering is, how can I disable this requirement on the Gen 2 light? My plan at this point is to replace the Gen 2 Light with a 12v Voltmeter. I do actually want to keep the red dummy light on, but I plan to change it from a big blaring light, to a small, red LED which I will embed in the gauge panel so that I still have bright red warnings, but I also have a more usable gauge.

As a side note, I plan to do something else with the current military Voltmeter location, so I won't be re-installing the Voltmeter.

Thanks for any of you gurus who can help me with this.

 

[CCATLETT1984]

the only thing that the light does is offer some resistance on the line to excite the alternator. most civilian setups use a resistor on the wire at the alternator instead of relying on the light.

 

[redwolf3]

So, I should be fine with something like a 1 Watt Resistor in parallel with the LED, that way if the LED fails, the resistor still puts enough of a load to keep it excited?

 

[mangus580]

measure the wattage of your bulb first.... then match it.