Hello, I have a Seat Ibiza TDI 130 Sport from '03 which has started to behave a bit strangely. It has a dashboard mounted voltmeter standard from the factory, and from the day it was new it always reported 14v with the engine running, no problems there. However, in March this year, it started reporting 12V or less when the engine had just started, and will not reach 14v until the engine reaches
2000rpm almost exactly, everytime. It's like the alternator does not switch on until 2000rpm is reached. When the car returns to idle it stays at 14v.I reported it to the dealer, and they initially thought that the alternator needed replacing, which they did, but the problem is still there and now they're claiming this is normal - although it clearly isn't because the car never used to do that.
The alternator has been replaced, a new one is clearly visible, as is the rear-section of the alternator, which is where I believe the rectifier is? Any ideas what's causing this problem? The revs required to turn it on are gradually increasing, and I'm worried it'll leave me stranded one day.
Cheers ~