On Tue, 3 Feb 2004 16:29:09 -0500, "Bob Chilcoat"
wrote:

On a possibly related subject, the load meter on our '74 Archer develops St.
Vitus dance about 25% of the time. Battery seems to charge fine, and you
can't hear any noise in the headphones, but the meter just jumps up and down
a couple of time a second. No one can figure out what the problem is. The
shop boys say that they see it a lot in Cherokees, and that they have seen
replacing the master switch cure it. Any other ideas?

Have you connected a to the bus while this is occuring? I bet the bus
voltage is oscillating too.

As others have suggested, a bad master switch can cause this problem.
Current flowing through the master switch cause it to heat. This
causes the contacts to deform, which breaks contact, which allows the
switch to cool, which then allows it to conduct again. Over and over
and over again.

You should get this fixed ASAP, it is definitely not good for the
charging or electrical system.

You might want to try pushing on master switch or on the panel cover
near the master switch to see if it 'amplifies' or fixes the problem.
This would confirm the need for replacement of the switch.

-Nathan