Hi all,
my girlfriend has a '90 Corrado G60 to which she is ludicrously attached... for the last while (not sure how long, but this is an ongoing problem) she has had a problem with the battery going dead while the car is parked. Lately it has become worse; the battery went dead enough that the car barely cranked (and wouldn't start) after sitting for only two days. She's repeatedly had the car in the shop and mentioned this problem but they haven't been able to find anything. I managed to blow the 10A fuse in my Fluke meter so I can't take any amp readings myself. I neither have the time nor the space to really troubleshoot this problem properly but am looking for ideas. The battery is new so that shouldn't be the issue. I measured the voltage at the battery and with the engine running it was lower than I'd like but not real low (around 13.2ish - IIRC a VW should be around 13.7 with a stock regulator?) However this was with a cheap meter (not my Fluke) and the shop swears that the alternator is OK. Positive battery cable and wire to alternator were replaced with new a couple years ago. Ground cable is still original but looks to be in good shape.
The car has an aftermarket stereo installed. I would like to unplug that and see if that helps.
I also would like to unplug the seatbelt relay, if someone can point me to it.
Finally, while the fan thermoswitch is new, I think the car needs a new radiator. In the 90-100 degree temperatures we're experiencing right now it is running hot, so when we dropped the car off at the shop last night (after it wouldn't start in the Costco parking lot) I suggested that when she calls them she just ask that the radiator be replaced. IIRC the thermostat was replaced a couple years ago when a cooling system flush was done and a bunch of hoses replaced, so if there's any issue with the cooling system it would seem to be simply an old, cruddy rad. Do you think that hot weather/old radiator combo might cause the cooling fan to run long enough to run the battery down? or am I grasping at straws here?
I did suggest to her that it might be time to look into alternate transportation, and even offered my old Porsche 944 which has none of these issues (not to mention a new radiator and hoses, fresh T-belt, and e-code headlights with a relay harness - something that the C desperately needs,) but I think that my description of the fragile ring and pinion scared her off (I know she likes to drive, um, assertively and I made it eminently clear that while I was relying on it for my own daily transportation that no hard shifts were to be made in that car because the financial and logistic consequences of same could be serious.) and like I said she is irrationally attached to this beast.
Also, any recommends for a good shop in the Vienna, VA area would be helpful. She's been taking the car to WB Motors on Pickett, and has used Ted at VolksWerks in the past, but Ted seems to not really like either Corrados or the people that own them for some reason. Is Currie's any good? I have heard good things about them and they apparently have a location in Vienna now.
thanks,
nate