[Vwdiesel] Chuck's Charging problems

Mon Aug 22 12:38:15 EDT 2005

Hagar's reprint. 

-----Original Message-----
From: Chuck Carnohan <Chuck.Carnohan at itd.idaho.gov>
To: HWY9FERGS at cs.com; vwdiesel at vwfans.com
Sent: Mon, 22 Aug 2005 09:00:45 -0600
Subject: Re: [Vwdiesel] Chuck's Charging problems

Ferg, Svend, Roger, Justin.....   You all pulled me out of the doldrums to 
discover the problem with my charging system.  In the loom, between the battery 
and the windshield washer tank, some battery acid had gotten into the works.  I 
tracked it down just like Ferg said with a volt meter ($3.50 at Harbor Freight)  
So happens the acid dripped on the big red wire connections to the battery, etc.  
A bit of cleaning and some solder- all is well.  Easy as pie!

I also changed the water pump as the original was starting to seep.  A couple of 
years ago changing the water pump would have been a pretty scary job for me with 
the timing belt R&R.  Now I can do it without worry quick as a cat can lick it's 
ass!  Just takes a bit of practice, jah??

I checked my smilage this A.M. and this little 1.6NA "green striper" is getting 
45 mpg.  Diesel is at $2.75 U.S.  OUCH!   Why in the world is diesel now about 
.30 cents more than gas???  Are we being robbed or what!

Chuck Carnohan

-----Original Message-----
From: vwdiesel-bounces at vwfans.com [mailto:vwdiesel-bounces at vwfans.com] On Behalf 
Of HWY9FERGS at cs.com
Sent: Tuesday, August 16, 2005 9:12 PM
To: vwdiesel at vwfans.com
Subject: [Vwdiesel] Chuck's Charging problems

Chuck Said:    

Subject: [Vwdiesel] Charging Problem

My '84 is running great but I can't figure out why the battery isn't
getting a full charge.  After about a week of driving the battery will
gradually lose it's charge (quicker if driving at night with lights).
I've cleaned grounds, checked for continuity.  The alternator is a Bosch
reman putting out 15 volts at the connector.  After the connector it
immediately drops to 11 or 12 volts depending on the load.  When the
lights are on it drops to 11.8!  After a bunch of testing and cleaning
of terminals and grounds I now have the battery light staying on more of
the time than before.  Any suggestions?       Chuck Carnohan

Hi all, Ferg again, This is a PERFECT time to check with a voltmeter to find the 
exact spot where you have the bad connection.  First, set your meter to read 
voltage in the proper range 12v.  Put your negative lead on the positive 
alternator LUG (the lug itself, not the terminal).  Take the positive lead and 
touch it to the  terminal surrounding the pos lug.  Not reading any voltage?  It 
means there's no problemo with the first connection!  Same thing with the main 
battery connectors. Usually if there's a clean tight connection there, you won't 
have a problem, but sometimes the connection can be compromised enough to cause 
it to break down under load.  That's typically what's happening when you're 
having troubles starting the car, the ignition lights go on normally when you 
turn the key to "run", but as soon as you turn to "start", you get a click and 
all goes dead-no cranking.  A more insidious cause of voltage drops can be in 
the crimp type connections. Just because a wire is joined together doesn't mean 
there's no resistance.  That's what we're looking for here. Going back to our 
travels with the meter, with the car running, keeping the negative lead on the 
positive alternator lug, you move the positive lead on down from point to point 
on your cable or wire . Every time you go to the next section (after any 
connections or crimps) if there is a problem with the connection, that's when 
you'll see voltage. When you see voltage on the downhill side of a connector, 
but not on the uphill side, that connector is where your bad connection is.
You can also just put you Neg lead to ground and read the voltages along a live 
circuit until you see a lesser voltage after a connection.  That works too.  It 
sounds like that's what Chuck did at the alternator connector. And if it reads 
fine on the lug (15 volts) but low on the wire right after the connector, it has 
to be the crimp on the connector for the cable going back to the starter.  While 
it's running try jumping in piggyback from the alt lug to the main starter lug 
(where the questionable cable runs) and see if your battery charges?  Very 
curious what you'll find.. I'd be willing to bet you need to r&r that alternator 
cable (or crimp a new terminal on it).  Doug Ferguson 
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