weird alternator malfunction

[fahrvegnugen at cox.net (David Utley)]

> 
> From: "Drew Teague" <roccnroll@hotmail.com>
> Date: 2004/07/21 Wed PM 04:50:35 EDT
> To: scirocco-l@scirocco.org
> Subject: weird alternator malfunction
> 
> I have been having charging problems with my car for about a year now.  Here 
> is the latest.  While coming back from a trip to NYC, I notice the 
> headlights/dash lights are dimmer than they should be.  I pull over to check 
> the wiring, and everything looks OK.  I get back in and there isn't enough 
> juice to start it.  After roll starting it, and messing with stuff for a 
> while, I discover that if I let the engine die completely and then start it 
> (letting the clutch out in gear while moving with the ignition on)  the 
> lights lit up wonderfully and everything was cool for just about one second 
> (a few times maybe as long as 3 secs.)  So, being 30 miles from home, when 
> the power dropped to the point where the engine was sputtering, I did the 
> engine cut/pop start thing a few times to boost the battery a bit and 
> repeated as necessary.  As messy as this was, it got me home, but I still 
> don't know what the deal is.  Just a few months ago I got a rebuilt 90 amp 
> alternator and redid all my wiring from end to end (as far as I could on the 
> exciter wire) because I was so frustrated with the whole thing.  No problems 
> for a few months, now this.
> 
> Any takers???
> 
> **Drew Teague**
> Harrisburg, PA
>
I will bet that you have a bad connection that is good now, and bad later.  I had kind of a similar experience with my GTI lately.  I put a larger pos. wire at the alt. like a year and a half ago.  About 9 months ago, I started getting this weird intermittent flickering of the alt. and oil light.  I looked everything over several times and could not find anything...  Finally, I am driving home and the alt/oil lights are on solid.  I look, and see that the pos. cable had severed itself, along with the exciter wire.  The positive cable broke itself because I did not secure the wire to the alternator except for at the lug.  Eventually, with my driving, I broke the wire in two.  It was so subtle that you could not see it.  When I reattached that wire properly, man, I got at least a good 5 hp from it alone!  SO, in short, I think you have a weak connection that is brought about by engine movement...

HTH

David


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