Alternators on long drives? Wet weather?

[Ti Kan]

scott thomas writes:
> I was wondering if an alternator
> can build up enough heat over that time frame to
> damage itself, or just as long as it's spinning,
> it ok?

That's why there usually is a little fan behind the pulley
that draws air into the alternator, to cool it.

> Second q is about the Bosch note about wet
> weather causing charging problems. I see it on
> alot of the web parts sites, along with just a
> heading under some recall list page I found.
> What's the story?

Water can cause belt slippage, and like most things electrical,
water entering the guts of an alternator is not a good thing.

-Ti
2003 A4 1.8T multitronic (soon)
2001 S4 2.7T
1984 5000S turbo
1980 4000 2.0
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