Not VW related but I think it's nothing outside the scope of what we're used to with Beetles. It's about my '86 Citroen
2CV. Below is what happened. BTW: THe 2CV has an alternator with external regulator.Today my '86 2CV quit charging so he first thing I did for grins was to replace the voltage regulator because I had one. But this made no difference so I put the original back on. I then took the brushes out and took a look at them and they looked fine. After I put the brushes back in the car started charging so I took it for a spin and my add-on voltmeter was BURIED! IT was showing 18 Volts and I knew that couldn't be kosher. I then put the new one back on and I'm getting just under 15 volts. What could taking the brushes in and out have done to cause such behavior? I drove it a good distance today and it's acting fine now. It seems really odd to me.