Generation control appparatus for vehicle generators

Claim 1

A generation control apparatus for a vehicle generator having a first rectifier circuit for supplying power to loads including a battery, and a second rectifier circuit for supplying an excitation current to an excitation coil, comprising: a voltage regulator circuit connected to said excitation coil and said battery and operable in response to the closing of a key switch to control the excitation current to said excitation coil in accordance with an output voltage of said battery and thereby to control an output voltage of said generator; indicator means connected to an output terminal of said second rectifier circuit; and an indicator drive circuit connected to the output terminal of said second rectifier circuit, said drive circuit including a detecting circuit for detecting a voltage at said output terminal, a resistor connected to said output terminal, and a switching circuit connected to said detecting circuit and said resistor and operable when the voltage at said output terminal is lower than a predetermined value so as to cause an energization current for said indicator means to flow through said resistor.