vw wiring help on a mk4

PittSpeed Automotive
1

I will summarize and point to a thread on racepa for details.

had an alt rebuilt about 9 months ago. Even after the rebuild I keep throwing an alternator workshop message about once every 4 days. I hooked a volt meter up thinking that it wasn’t pushing 14+ volts when this message is displayed, however, my theory was wrong. The message flashed but my meter showed 14.2v the whole time.

After talking some more with a guy on RPA, it seems that message is tripped when the computer sees less than 75A. My problem is that none of the meters I have will read more than 10A. I still have to check continuity on a couple of more wires, but I think they are all solid. I have also cleaned all the grounds under the battery, are there more I should hit.

I have two questions:

  1. Does anyone have a multimeter that will read 120A max and would you be willing to let me borrow it for a couple of weeks in exchange for money / beer?
  2. Does anyone know of a super automotive electric shop / person that would be willing to try to resolve this problem?

I am going to check a couple more things, and may just get a new (rebuilt) alt from the dealer and throw in. I would rather not do this on a whim though as they are over $280 from the internet for the bosch unit.

Here is the link to the racepa thread that has a writeup on most everything I have tried.

http://www.racepa.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=4991&st=0&gopid=72218&#entry72218

Thanks everyone!

chris

ps, If anyone has a mk4 bentley manual that they wouldn’t mind loaning me for a couple weeks, the same offer of some cash, beer, or wild turkey stands. I have an pdf version but it doesn’t have the wiring diagram in it…

2

i bet sonny would help[ ya for some liquer

3

lol… whiskey to be exact.

beyond that, i have a meter that’ll read that high, and i know a super automotive electrician that happens to be in my garage…

i have a bentley but i don’t think i can let it go for weeks… i do, however, have a pdf of the wiring diagram… send me your email.

4

buy a used alt, put it on and be done w/ it. oem alts are not bosch, but valeo.

if your alt is a rebuilt unit, chances are good it is missing circuitry needed inside for the workshop bs. have run into similar problems before.

5

just as an update, this did seem to hold true. I bought a used oem alt off of ebay for $40. It has been 12 days since I’ve installed it and I haven’t seen the alternator workshop message flash on the screen yet. I think I’m calling this one fixed.

Thanks for all the help guys!

chris