[Vwdiesel] 89 Jetta naD Battery drain

[Scott Kair]

Doyt,
	Many years ago I had a similar problem in my Quantum TD. Battery
checked out ok, alternator checked out ok, crawled into the trunk to check
whether the light went out, and so on, battery still drained and the car
wouldn't start about every third day.  Finally got lucky and found an
automotive electric shop that had been in business for decades, and the
owner remembered a similar issue with very early Beetles. They rechecked the
alternator, which was throwing  just a bit over 12v. That's within normal
specs, but, as he put it, we're dealing with Bosch. 
	He found an adjustable voltage regulator somewhere, and set it to
charge at 14 volts. It was still charging well when the car was rear ended
and destroyed. 
	Shop owner has retired, shop closed, and I don't have the slightest
idea of where to get an adjustable regulator. 
	HTH,
	Scott Kair 

"Democracy is a verb."- Judge Abner Mikva

-----Original Message-----
From: vwdiesel-bounces at vwfans.com [mailto:vwdiesel-bounces at vwfans.com] On
Behalf Of Doyt W. Echelberger
Sent: Monday, May 02, 2011 1:56 PM
To: Vwdiesel at vwfans.com
Subject: [Vwdiesel] 89 Jetta naD Battery drain

Several times in the past month the battery on my 89 Jetta Dna (100K miles) 
has been too low to crank over the engine. And the battery is about 2 years 
old, in warranty and tests good.

I tried to remedy this situation by checking the charging system (which was 
OK), actually measuring the battery ability to charge and discharge,  (no 
problems), and then for good measure and (because it was Easter and the 
switch felt loose) I replaced the ignition switch module.  The tear-down 
proved me correct. The old switch WAS broken and didn't crisply click 
through the starting stages.

OK, that should have fixed the problem, right? The glow plugs were staying 
on and were eating up the battery, right?

Yesterday I went out to start the car and the battery was too low to crank 
it over, just like before. But I DO have anew ignition switch.

I figure the next step is to test every circuit with an ammeter for current 
flow, with engine off and nothing turned on, starting right at the positive 
terminal of the battery.

But I thought I'd poll the list first, for BTDT and alternate approaches. I 
KNOW you guys, as a group, are way smarter and more experienced than I am.

Doyt Echelberger 


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