Re: ? for speedy jim (or anyone else who can answer faster than him)

you didn't say if it was an internal or external regulated alt. If it is an external regulated alt then the regulator could be bad.

BTW you should have 13.5 VDC (volts, DC) to properly charge the battery, and to have the car run properly. I had a blown diode in my alt on my POS Ford Van and there was only about 9.5 VDC coming from the Alt. Improperly jumpstarting another car with a completely dead battery can blow the diodes. An ammeter and voltmeter in the car is helpful on letting you know what's going with the charging system, instead of the "idiot lights". Also make sure the connections are clean and the belt isn't slipping.

one other thing i have heard about is alternator sudden death...lol there was a tag on my alternator i put in my van late last year, and it said beware of alternator sudden death.... i think it was referring to not having a completely dead battery in the car when you first crank it up.... that would cause too much current through the regulator and it would blow it within minutes then you have another bad alternator...! Just something to be aware of. HTH.

:-P

I am begining to think no one has ever had this problem before :'(

That's when you ground it or something right? I did everything the same as I had the 3 previous times I changed the alternator, plus the time I had to pull the compressor bracket out... so I just don't see why it is different this time...

so how do you polarize it? I will try anything at this point....

they readily admit they pick on me... at least it's all in good fun elsewhere...

i thought i mentioned somewhere that it is internally regulated... maybe that was somewhere else I had posted this to though... anyhow... it is internally regulated... I do have over 13.5 V and so far as I know the battery was above 12V when I installed it... so I shouldn't have had a prob :(

On Mon, 07 Jul 2003 02:09:02 GMT, "Scott H." , who was sitting in a corner eating his Xmas pie stuck in his thumb and pulled out a plum and began to run off at the mouth like so:

Ouch! I'm not worthy! I'm not worthy! I sentence myself to 5 hours in a row at

-- Travis (Shaggie) '63 VW Camo Baja...

A generator which has been lying around (for years) *may* lose the residual magnetism in the iron Field pole pieces. Without that bit of magnetism, the Generator won't be able to start generating.

Polarizing sends current thru the Field windings in the correct direction to build up the North/South poles so that the Generator produces voltage (and produces it with the correct polarity).

If you accidentally magnetize the thing backwards, the Generator will make *negative* voltage, which is not a good thing for the battery (and probably your stereo, etc.).

If you ground the DF terminal and touch battery to D+ for a brief moment, it will be polarized correctly.

There is a Generator article on my web site for more info on testing.

Speedy Jim

After reading and re-reading all the posts and your original plea, I have to suggest , lauren, that you check your fuses. All of them visually and electrically and make sure none have blown.

I think that this will be your answer in the end.

You will find one blown.

Remove "YOURPANTIES" to reply MUADIB®

Yea, I think we "ALL" saw one blow here on this group........LOL

-- Terry B AKA VDUBBS Buggin in Bama

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Perhaps in geological time scales, but not in a human lifetime. It really doesn't happen. It only comes up when a generator has been completely disassembled, including the field pole pieces and perhaps put back together differently.

Exactly right

Yes, this happens. I've seen it. It had completely stumped the owner, and really had me going for awhile. He would charge the battery and then start the car, which would run for awhile, until the battery got completely discharged. The faster we ran the engine the faster the battery discharged.

I repolarized the generator and everything straightened right out....

----------------------------------------------- Jim Adney snipped-for-privacy@vwtype3.org Madison, WI 53711 USA

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