95 A6q Voltage Regulator Adventures and question.

[Robert Myers]

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Tom, failing all else, you can get a set of oversized brushes and 
sand them to size to fit your A6.  Just lay a piece of sandpaper on a 
flat surface (workbench, kitchen table, whatever) and hold the 
oversized brush against the surface of the paper and have at it using 
a bit of elbow grease.  The graphite is pretty soft and it will wear 
away petty quickly.

Bob

At 09:14 AM 5/2/2011, toomanyaudis at aol.com wrote:
>*This message was transferred with a trial version of CommuniGate(r) Pro*
>
>
>
>  I was in the middle of a 450 mile drive in my 95 A6q yesterday 
> when my alternator stopped charging.
>
>I was able to make it to an exit off I95 in Lumberton, NC, pull into 
>a gas station and start calling parts stores.  None of the stores 
>that were open had the Voltage Regulator in stock (what I figured to 
>be the most likely cause of the problem), but I was able to restart 
>the car (barely) and make it a couple of more miles to the Advance 
>Auto Parts Store.
>
>The plan was to charge up the battery and get within at least 200 
>miles of home so that I could get one tow on Sunday and another Monday morning.
>
>Seeing as I had about 45 min for the battery to recharge, I decided 
>to remove the alternator to check my diagnosis and see if there was 
>another VR at the store that would match up to mine.
>
>As you are probably aware, getting the Alternator free on the V6 is 
>harder than figuring out one of those metal puzzle games at Cracker 
>Barrel.  Only the solution involves a lot more grease and 
>swearing.  Well, a different kind of grease than the Cracker Barrel, at least.
>
>I finally got the Alternator free and took the VR off the unit.  One 
>brush was shiny and the other was shorter and black -- it obviously 
>had lost contact with the alternator shaft.
>
>It was a no-go on getting a new VR, so I pulled the short brush out 
>as much as possible, put it back together and had the alternator 
>bench tested.  And... it tested good.
>
>So, reassembly was in order.  After a delay while I helped a couple 
>of guys swap pulleys on their alternator -- me being a good 
>samaritan with tools and all that (vice grips and a breaker bar can 
>do in about an hour what would take an impact wrench 45 seconds) I 
>hit the road and made it the last 225 miles home.
>
>It looks like the replacement VR's are in the outrageous price zone 
>-- $80 or more locally, so I was wondering if just the brushes can be replaced.
>
>Has anyone done this before?  Where would I find brushes that would work?
>
>Tom
>Charleston SC
>95 A6q
>
>
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