[Vwdiesel] Cont'd Electrical gremlins - bad ground?

Brett dslfan at gwi.net
Fri Nov 8 09:05:18 EST 2002


That's a great idea, I was thinking of installing a voltmeter, I'll do this
for now though since money is a little tight. Thanks to all you guys for
your suggestions so far, it's only been two hours since I first posted. I
got the battery charged up enough to start the car and get to work. It's
supposed to be warm (for November) this weekend, I'll check everything out
and get the ground cable and the connections on the body cleaned up and see
what I find. And yes, the alt. Belt is loose, I have a new Conti belt to put
on this weekend. I forgot to mention that in my post. Thanks again, I
appreciate all your help. :)

-Brett

----- Original Message -----
From: "Anton Largiader" <largiader at worldlynx.net>
To: "Brett" <dslfan at gwi.net>
Cc: <vwdiesel at vwfans.com>
Sent: Friday, November 08, 2002 08:35
Subject: Re: [Vwdiesel] Cont'd Electrical gremlins - bad ground?


> Oh man, I had this sort of thing on my Rabbit a year or so ago.  In my
case
> it was a bad alternator AND a bad battery.  The light would glow more and
> more as the engine RPM increased.  The voltage would drop way down as soon
> as I added loads like the lights, fan, etc.  I even swapped alternators
(one
> Motorola for another) and the problem stayed.  Getting a new/rebuilt Bosch
> did the trick.
>
> A loose belt will make the alt light glow.  We have had this on the 85 TD
> over and over.  Reducing loads (like turning off the headlight, etc) can
> make a difference in this case, too.
>
> If you are charging the battery and then come out and it's 11.85 volts,
your
> battery is bad.  No question about it.  If it holds a charge after you
plug
> it in, but then is low after you have used the car, then obviously it's
not
> being charged by the car.
>
> An easy way to monitor voltage is with a simple adapter plugged into the
> cigarette lighter, leading to a voltmeter.  Only a buck or two to make it,
> and it's one of the best things I've ever cobbled together.  Monitor the
> voltage during an entire drive, to make sure it's charging at high RPM as
> well as at low RPM.  And definitely clean up those connections.  Compare
the
> voltage at the lighter socket to the voltage across the battery itself.
>
>
>
> ==============================================
> Anton Largiader, Chester Springs, PA
> '94 K75RT, '93 R100GSPD,  '94 R1100RSA, '98 Jetta TDI
> anton at largiader.com   http://largiader.com
> ==============================================
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Brett" <dslfan at gwi.net>
> To: <vwdiesel at vwfans.com>
> Sent: Friday, November 08, 2002 7:24 AM
> Subject: [Vwdiesel] Cont'd Electrical gremlins - bad ground?
>
>
> > Hello,
> >
> > I'm writing this as I wait for my battery to charge outside, had to call
> in
> > late for work. I posted a while ago about electrical problems, looks
like
> > they are continuing. The problem is that my car is often losing the
charge
> > at the battery. Went out this morning and the battery is putting out
about
>
> > 11.85 volts, not quite enough to crank it with a long glow plug cycle
(I'm
> > in Southern Maine, it's cold enough all ready at 6:45 AM)
> > I had my alternator rebuilt at a  local shop a few weeks ago, so I'm
going
> > to assume it's okay now. The alternator light has been lit up recently
> when
> > the engine speed goes up before I shift, then it goes off. I've been
aware
> > of the problem, but figured I'd ask you guys for advice. I was just
> > searching the watercooled group, and saw a post from Loren in 2000 about
a
> > possible bad ground causing this. I don't think anything should be
> actually
> > draining the battery, especially since I don't even have a radio in my
> car.
> > The alternator is putting out the proper voltage when it's running
(right
> > around 13.9 volts). The battery is getting a proper charge when the car
is
> > running as well from my multimeter testing results. I had the battery
> > tested and it is good according to the Autozone guy that tested it.
> >
> > How many electrical grounds are there on an A2 Jetta? I should probably
> > clean them up. I recently replaced the starter -> positive battery
> terminal
> > cable with a low (2) gauge cable. I have a new 4 gauge cable to replace
> the
> > factory alternator -> starter cable. However, the battery ground cable
is
> > original and the location where it anchors to the body is a little
> > corroded, all I've done is spray it with some Rust Check to try to keep
it
> > from getting worse. I'm suspecting it's just a really bad ground not
> > allowing the battery to fully charge, but am not really sure. Any ideas?
> > Thanks in advance.
> >
> > -Brett
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > vwdiesel mailing list
> > vwdiesel at vwfans.com
> > http://www.audifans.com/mailman/listinfo/vwdiesel
> >
>
>




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