hi all i have sold my beloved felicia and have got a 1999 mk 4 golf tdi but she broke down last night and it has been identifed that the alternator wasnt charging this was the cause of the break down, it happed on my felicia the same about a yr ago... i got a new alternator and fitted it but it still was only showing 12volts at the battery so i taken it down to the garage where i got it from and they tested it and said the new alternaor was dodgy, and would order a new one for tomorro, but when i put the ignition on the bettery light doesnt come on, does this sound normal or could it be some thing else? thanks tom

hi all i have sold my beloved felicia and have got a 1999 mk 4 golf tdi but she broke down last night and it has been identifed that the alternator wasnt charging this was the cause of the break down, it happed on my felicia the same about a yr ago... i got a new alternator and fitted it but it still was only showing 12volts at the battery so i taken it down to the garage where i got it from and they tested it and said the new alternaor was dodgy, and would order a new one for tomorro, but when i put the ignition on the bettery light doesnt come on, does this sound normal or could it be some thing else? thanks tom

Sounds to me as if you have answered your own question, when you get the new Alternator the it will cure the Ign lamp problem

Radiotwo

i hope it is that though and nothing else could a dodgy alternator stop the battery light coming on when the ignition is switched on

i hope it is that though and nothing else could a dodgy alternator stop the battery light coming on when the ignition is switched on

Its not the only thing, but if the altirnator is faulty, then the light will not com on

what could be the other things?

sold my beloved felicia and have got a 1999 mk 4 golf

theres ya problem lol

haha :P still kept it vag tho

Have you checked the battery warning lamp bulb?, if it blown it could cause the alternator to stop working as the warning circuit is broken. I known this happen on a vectra, and an auto electrician spend over 12 hours finding the fault

i havnt checked that no, cant say i feel like pulling the dash out of a golf to be honast not like the little felly :/

theres ya problem lol

Oiii!!!

Its not the only thing, but if the altirnator is faulty, then the light will not com on

I don't think I agree with that, if the alternator is faulty the Batt light will come on and stay on. If it is working, the light will come on and go off when started.

Even if the alt is faulty the batt light should come on at the turn of the key (not starting engine), If it doesn't come on the likely cause is a blown bulb AFAIC. A blown bulb can stop an alternator from working, but this really shouldn't happen because modern cars (or cars that have been designed properly) should have a resistor in parallel with the battery warning light, to stop this from happening. The resistor keeps the circuit closed and acts just like the bulb.

It should be fairly easy to remove the dash, just make sure you find all the screws and don't force anything.

Edited 17 February, 200917 yr by temps

I don't think I agree with that, if the alternator is faulty the Batt light will come on and stay on. If it is working, the light will come on and go off when started.

Some years ago my dad's car's alternator died (killed by a chimp who painted the engine Daytona Green when he was only supposed to be doing the new front wings), and when it died, so did the warning light (even on initial switchon [and the alternator was tested by the car sales place's mechanic right in front of me, so I know it can happen]).

i had another new alternator fitted today and touch wood she appears to be charging but the battery light doesnt come on when the ignition is put on

Then you should check the bulb is working by swapping it with one that does work, for example it might sit next door to the handbrake lamp, if that one works, swap it with that one and turn the ignition on. Just watch out that if your car has an airbag on the steering wheel, and for any reason you unplug the airbag, don't turn on the ignition whilst the airbag is unplugged. But you shouldn't need to unplug the airbag to get to the dash anyway.

Arguably it might always be wise - in the case where the batt lamp does not come on and the alternator has stopped charging - to check the bulb before buying a new alternator, because of the reasons stated above, some cars just aren't designed properly.

Why? One of my previous cars was subject to an airbag recall, and I was explicitly instructed in how to disable the airbag system until I could get it to a dealership, by the importer.

Becuase if its anything like the felicia you will then need to reset the airbag controller in order to get it working again!

haha :P still kept it vag tho

wasn't all that VAG to start with though...!