[Vwdiesel] re:moving on/alternator update!

[S. Shourds]

> Here's what is really interesting,  i found while visiting a friends 
> repair shop, whom used a cool "snap on" anylizer, the alt is putting 
> out 14.4 volts, great! this great tool also says that somewhere in the
> system i am giving back more voltage. discharging battery.
> Back at my home i did the old "light in between the positive cable and 
> battery" test light. found
> no drain of current, put the head lights on just to make sure the test 
> light worked and it did.



Years ago, when I was in grad. school, the fairly new battery in my '80 
Rabbit died.  I took it back to the Sears where I'd bought it to get a 
new one and a refund of the pro-rated warranty.  The guy in the shop 
clamped his inductance ammeter over the battery cable and said, "Well, 
there's your problem.  You've got a 1 amp draw and that's what killed 
your battery.  We can't warranty that."  Dad was with me and said that, 
yeah, 1 amp's a lot and that's just how it is.  Bummed, I paid for the 
battery and drove home.  Hours later, I pulled out my milliammeter and 
put it in line with the battery.  Not typically the best idea because 
any real current draw would leave me with a molten meter.  I looked at 
the needle and it was swinging back and forth to maybe 10 milliamps.  
Swinging like a clock pendulum.  Clock.  Like the quartz clock in the 
dash.  Like the only device using any power whatsoever.  So, what I 
found out is that an inductance ammeter is a very expensive and 
inacurate (at low current) tool used to fool people into thinking that 
they need to buy a new battery and pay to find the current leak. 

-Shalyn