intermittant heavy load on Alternator?

[Phil Rose]

At 10:15 AM -0500 11/21/07, Feelstranger wrote:
>
>Recently, I realized that this intermittent low charge (voltmeter 
>indicates as low as 12 V while running, sometimes more) was 
>accompanied by occasional belt squeals which got me thinking that 
>the low charge was actually a large load on the alt.

Are you reading voltage on the Climate Control (channel 11)?? That's 
more accurate than the dash gauge. BTW, I find that lately the 
voltage drops significantly due to running the heater at normal fan 
speed--switching to "low" speed boosts the voltage by nearly a full 
volt (in fact, my car's heater fan has much more affect on voltage 
than almost any other electrical accessory). My Bosch alternator and 
heater fan are relatively new (3 or 4 yrs old).

Phil
-- 

Phil Rose.....Rochester, NY USA
'06 A3q 3.2 V6 (5K, silver)
'91 200q	(156K, Lago blue)
Gone to Audi Valhalla:
'91 200q   (Tornado red)
'89 100 (Bamboo gold)