Driving our first ever bay window van last night from Dartford to Birmingham, we noticed when we were almost home, the lights going very dim, indicators very dim and very slow, almost staying on??? I have used a multimeter on both the battery and the terminals on top of the alternator today and had the following results.... Alternator terminals read 0.0 volts and the battery reads 11.98, even when revved. No change when the engine is switched off!! Would you say the alternator is kaput?? If so, how big of a job is it and can an ameteur like myself?? How costly can it be?? Any advice would be greatly received as I am dying to use her for vanfest!! Cheers guys
sounds like it has gone then mate, if it isnt charging, unless the regulator affects this? if that has broken? (only a guess here i'm not sure if it is anything to do with it) if i remember correctly member bekyip on here had a new alternator a few weeks ago, as for changing it as long as you are able to use a spanner you'll be ok, just take pics for ref if you don't feel confident.
Well that does sound like the alternator isn't passing any charge so is dead. Check the fan belt is nice and tight and that it is spinning the alternator. If you need the change it then VW heritage do a good Bosch one I can recommend, for my 2.0l pancake type 4 engine it wasn't the hardest of jobs, just read a few articles online and take your time. I think it took about 2 hours on mine so if you do take it to a garage then you know how much it should cost. If there is anything I've learnt about these beautiful machines is that nothing is particularly technical, you just need to take your time and follow good instructions.
what engine type do you have? i'm not sure about the removal as i've not had to do the job, belive it or not i'm new to vw's but i soak up useless information lol, i've years of landrover stripping and repairing - the 2 worlds are very close, i'll have a bash at any job myself, the brilliance of digital photography enables me to take lots of reference shots. someone far cleverererer than me will know exactly mate.
Cheers guys, I have a single carb 1600, the fan belt is definately spinning the alternator, it looks fairly straight forward but I have told the fans sometimes get stuck in the housing tinware at the rear??? here is my engine:
Mine died a while back and one bit of advice was to hit the back of it with a hammer with the engine on as it does sometime get stuck on the brushes. Failing that I'd suggest you need a new alternator but as your engine is a different type to me I'm sure someone else can comment on the ease of fitting, mine, in my type 4 engine, was pretty easy.
I think it could be a dynamo!! is this easier of harder???? Here are two more pics that I have just taken...
it is a dynamo, not easier or harder, put one lead off your voltmeter down to earth and the other to the red wire terminal. pull out those 2 plastic dust covers and check the brushes aren't worn down. check the wiring to the regulator and tha its all connected properly. of the brushes are worn out they are about 10 mins t change and 4 quid.
Just found this, does it help at all? Unfortunately your engine is different from mine so my knowledge ends here! http://thelatebay.com/index.php?topic=1728
dynamo is stamped in fairly big letters next to each terminal, though if you brushes are worn out, you still wont get a charge
