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Hello ,travelling home from work at on these cold nights when i get home with engine idling the brake warning light glows on the dashboard but i know the brakes are OK .Also last night the alternator light flashed on brightly .These lights both go out when i rev the engine . The alternator is only 3 years old & i do very low mileage .I was wondering if the regulator is up to the job .I understand it is incorporated into the alternator .Any ideas ,regards

The most common cause of the alternator light and the brake warning (!) led to light up is worn alternator brushes. If you want to get your car fixed in a hurry, then do the following:-

- Remove the air filter
- Undo the alternator brush holder's connections
- Very gently file down the lip from the alternator's brushes with a miniature rat's tail file
- Refit the brushes and air filter.

Alternatively, you could order a new set of brushes from the VW Classic Parts Center http://www.vw-classicparts.de/ , VW part number 0409035031 at €29.86 (excluding 19% MwSt - german VAT and postage) and will take a while to arrive (I think the blue square means that they will have to be ordered in from elsewhere).

Just one small hint.
The gap between the brush holder himself and the rotor is about 2mm
So you should "see" at least about 4-5mm of the brushes.
New ones have about 9mm.

regards
Manfred

Hello ,I am having problems .The alternator doesn't seem to be pumping out enough juice. It's not very old though 3 yrs max & i do very low mileage . I put a Multimeter on the battery Analogue reading said bad battery .I start engine no change really on meter .Engine is running ok but I am unhappy about meter readings ,regards Allan

Hi Allan,

Have you also checked the following:-


- The actual battery voltage whilst the engine is running (it should be at least 13V rising to 14.5V max when the engine is revved up).

- Alternator brushes condition (as mentioned in one of my previous posts)

- Alternator belt deflection. This should be between 11mm to 15mm (in one direction), measured at the centre with light thumb pressure.


If the fan belt deflection isn't between 11mm to 15mm (fairly unlikely given it's low "mileage") then do the following:-

- Undo the alternator pulley nut. Use a chain oil filter wrench or a large flat bladed screwdriver to hold the alternator pulley in position. This may require two people to do this.

- Remove the outer alternator pulley and any necessary number of shims (there must always be 10 shims in total fitted) to tighten the fan belt.

- Refit the outer alternator pulley in the following order:

-- Outer alternator pulley
-- Alternator pulley's shims (eg. the ones you have removed previously)
-- Outer alternator pulley's retaining large dished washer. The flat part of the washer must be against the shims.
-- Alternator pulley nut

- Rotate the alternator pulley with a socket and ratchet at least 2 or 3 turns. This will seat the alternator fan belt correctly onto the alternator's pulley halves.

- Tighten the alternator pulley nut (using either a chain oil filter wrench or a large flat bladed screwdriver) to 43 lbft.