89 200 tqa - charging system questions

[Fred Munro]

Sounds like your alarm may be drawing too much current, Samir. Try hooking
an ammeter on the main battery lead and connect and disconnect the alarm
system to see how much current it draws. I would think the draw should be in
the milliamp range - you may have the spec in the alarm info. If the alarm
system is drawing high amps, it can flatten a battery fairly quickly.
Your voltages sound reasonable. Your battery may be getting a little weak -
you can have it load tested at most places which sell batteries.

HTH

Fred Munro
'94 S4  111k km

----- Original Message -----
From: "Samir Shah" <gofast1 at home.com>
To: "Quattro List" <quattro at audifans.com>
Sent: Tuesday, September 19, 2000 6:39 PM
Subject: 89 200 tqa - charging system questions


> Here's the situation: When I start the car, the voltmeter (after a blip)
is
> almost at the '14V line', even at idle. As you use the car, it slowly
drops
> down to midway between the 14V line and the 12V line while driving (13v?),
> and at idle is at the 12V line.
>
> Then, when I park it, the fan runs for about 13-15 mins. If I have the
alarm
> computer connected, this means that next morning there is not enough juice
> to restart it. If I have the alarm disconnected, the charge will usually
be
> good enough even after 2-3 days.
>
> I have changed the line from the alternator to the battery with a 1AWG
> single piece, to combat corrosion. I've supplemented the wire from the
> fusebox to the dash with a second thick wire as well. I've also changed
the
> voltage regulator (the old one showed corrosion on the resistor), which
> helped a little. I do have the larger alternator (115A, I think).
>
> As a check, can someone give me the right part # for the voltage
regulator -
> new one was slightly different than old one.
>
> Maybe I need a voltage regulator upgrade? Is there one?
>
> How can I reduce the amount of time the fan runs? If this time dependant,
or
> temp dependant? I use synthetic oil, so I don't think I'll have as much of
a
> coking problem in the turbo.
>
> Would I get excess current draw from the alarm if the lock thingy is not
> indexed correctly?
>
> All other ideas appreciated. Thanks.
>
> Believe it or not, this is the only thing thats currently a problem in the
> wagon! (And the seat heaters).
>
> Samir.
>
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