VW Polo 1.4 CL 1997 - VW Polo Alternator Fault (New Alternator)

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Fri 12 Nov 2010 08:12
VW Polo 1.4 CL 1997 - VW Polo Alternator Fault (New Alternator) - Sheph77
Hi,

I have a VW Polo 1.4 CL 1997 as above. The car wouldn't start one day so I assumed it was the battery and bump started it. This worked fine. A few weeks later I had the same problems so assumed the battery was dead.

I bought a new battery and the went flat in about two days so then assumed it was the alternator. I have since replaced the battery again and had a new alternator fitted by the local garage.

The car then started fine but I noticed the alternator warning light was dimly flickering when the engine was idling. The car has now died again and so I am assuming the battery has gone flat again (it will still jump start)!!

Does anyone have any idea why the power is not getting to the battery given that I have both a new battery and alternator? I also changed the starter motor recently so that should be fine too!

I have checked the connections yesterday (in the dark admittedly) and could only find one small blue wire runnign to the alternator!? There is room for two spade connections in the connection clip!?

Thanks!

Jack
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Fri 12 Nov 2010 09:02
VW Polo 1.4 CL 1997 - VW Polo Alternator Fault (New Alternator) - Collos25

A flickering ignition light normally idicates an alternator fault.

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Fri 12 Nov 2010 10:35
VW Polo 1.4 CL 1997 - VW Polo Alternator Fault (New Alternator) - Sheph77
Thanks!

Yeah I thought that originally but have had the alternator replaced and installed a new battery. I was wondering if it could possible be the earth cable from the alternator to the battery?

another point to note is that the fuel temperature gauge is not working. This has never worked actually and not been a problem but I undersand that the alternator takes A 12V supply from the dash.

Could these faults be related?

Thanks to anyone who can help me on this!!
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Fri 12 Nov 2010 11:07
VW Polo 1.4 CL 1997 - VW Polo Alternator Fault (New Alternator) - injection doc
need to take a volt meter reading at the battery at idle with and without a load and again at 1500 rpm.
Its also worth taking a reading on the back of the alternator as well and take a volts reading between the alternator body to the earth of the battery, this should read no more than 0.03 volts, if its higher than that you also have an earth problem.
To me it sounds like you have a current drian flattening the battery and the new alternator as already suggested is faulty.
Has the car got an aftermarket radio fitted, and check the HRW to see if its warm to touch after you park the car incase the rear window is draining the battery.
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Fri 26 Nov 2010 09:46
VW Polo 1.4 CL 1997 - VW Polo Alternator Fault (New Alternator) - jebus9820
Hi Jack

I have just brought a VW Polo 1.4 CL 1997, and i have got the exact same problem. To the letter near enought! Did you find out what was wrong with it in the end?

There isnt any chance you live in the birmingham area and have jsut sold the car on?

Thanks

Chris
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Wed 15 Dec 2010 16:40
VW Polo 1.4 CL 1997 - VW Polo Alternator Fault (New Alternator) - mhlewis

Hi,

It's your instrument cluster. You can either buy a new one (expensive), or if you are lucky you may be able to find where the printed circuit board is broken and solder a connection to fix the break.

See this for explanation: http://www.methodbook.net/electronics/polo.html

Good luck!

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Wed 15 Dec 2010 18:05
VW Polo 1.4 CL 1997 - VW Polo Alternator Fault (New Alternator) - gfewster

The OP's experience shows why poor diagnostic practices mean that motorists end up replacing perfectly good parts all the time - and dealers are complicit in this.

If you suffer a flat battery, once you get it jumped/bumped then then you MUST MUST MUST take a voltage across the terminals to check that it's charging. Then once your battery is charged up again, you need to take another voltage with everything switched off then disconnect the battery and take a voltage while not connected. Do the maths with the two voltage readings to check there isn't an excess drain on the battery. Even with modern alarms/computers/memories to run, a car left doing nothing should take many months to flatten the battery. These days, the fault is rarely with the battery.

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