Jump to content
READ ME - iOS Notifications - How To Enable - Guide

The usual alternator problem?

jimgreen
 Share

Recommended Posts

jimgreen Apprentice

jimgreen

Posted
Posted

Hi everyone, been a lurker for a while now since buying an R plate felicia estate. I love it :cool:

Anyhoo, car wouldnt start after a week of an eggy smell in the cabin (come to this later). Bumped it off a good battery, and drove to the girlfriends.

Came back, and both headlights blew.

Main beam light on dash stayed on. (now only on sidelights)

Drove some more and the whole car shut down, engine off, no lights nothing.

Open bonnet, battery steaming, regulator steaming.

Now this sounds like the normal regulator problem I have read about on the forums, but this worries me; when I put my good battery on it it would turn over fine, but never fire up, no spark.

I would have thought that putting a new battery on would let it start, even if the regulator is bust.

Am I wrong?

Will a new alternator fix everything?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
cjb Experienced

cjb

Posted
Posted

It's possible you have blown some electrical bits- ignition amp or engine ecu maybe?. The eggy smell is the battery gassing due to severe overcharging. I'd say your alternator has been putting out rather more than 14v.

I'd disconnect the alternator cable and drive belt, fit a new battery, and see if it starts, but you'll need some luck.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
cjb Experienced

cjb

Posted
Posted
yeh, its the non starting on the new battery that is scaring me. Are any of the major bits protected by some big fuses? I'd imagine the ECU would be protected?

They'll be fused, but that won't protect very well against a over-voltage fault: the fuse will be rated at such a value that will only blow after a short, to stop the wiring burning out. If the over-voltage was high enough to blow headlamps, it was high.

I'm not familiar with the felly, I'm afraid.

There's a few checks you can do. Does the fuel pump run for a short while when you turn on the ginition (it should hum gently to prime the system)? If you attach a spare spark plug to a ht lead (and hold the plug against the engine block with insulated pliers (carefully- HT shocks can hurt, and could be fatal if you have a heart condition) while someone turns the key are there sparks?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Phil-E Mentor

Phil-E

Posted
Posted

Could be the ECU or immobiliser if there's no spark.

It's not looking good.

Perhaps post in the vag-com section and see if anyone near you to plug it in and see if nay errors coming up or if the ECU and immobiliser can even be acessed>

Phil

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Phil-E Mentor

Phil-E

Posted
Posted

I'm pretty sure there will be an immobiliser... anything after 1996 in the felicia (including my 1996 N) had an immobiliser.

Open up the key and if it has one there will be a little chip (black blob) inside near where the metal joins inside the plastic if that makes sense.

Phil

Link to comment
Share on other sites
KenONeill Grand Master

KenONeill

Posted
Posted

You've boiled the battery, which is pretty diagnostic of over-charging it. When you over-charge the battery, the rest of the electrics get exposed to the excess voltage as well.

The easiest check is to test the control box on another car, and if it overcharges on the new car, assume the worst I'm afraid. I don't know if you can test the ECU short of a relevant fault code reader.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Phil-E Mentor

Phil-E

Posted
Posted
get the code off the side of the ecu. they're plug and play on felicias.

But you will also either need to immobiliser off the doner car or code your immobiliser to the ECU I believe other wise it won't start as the immobiliser and ECU won't "talk" to each other.

Phil

Link to comment
Share on other sites
TeflonTom Mentor

TeflonTom

Posted
Posted

they are not plug and play as such, you need to erase the learned values in the ecu using vag-com, then next time you turn on the ignition it re-learn's the ecu's immo code automatically, but you dont need a pin code or skc to do it

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Phil-E Mentor

Phil-E

Posted
Posted
they are not plug and play as such, you need to erase the learned values in the ecu using vag-com, then next time you turn on the ignition it re-learn's the ecu's immo code automatically, but you dont need a pin code or skc to do it

Ah right.

Is that something that can be done in the 409.1 shareware version of vag-com or would you need the full version? I wouldn't have a clue how to do it either way :rofl:

Link to comment
Share on other sites
eddies Enthusiast

eddies

Posted
Posted

A friend's car overcooked the electrics due to a faulty alternator regulator. Had to replace Battery, Alternator, ECU and the radio. No fuses blew.

WIth the new ECU in place (50 euro from breakers yard) and teh \lternatro replaced the car would turn over and start............run for about 2 seconds and then quit. This last probelm was sue to a mis-matched Immo. The dealer (did not have VAG COM) charged 70 euro to recode. SO it's woth buying V-C just for this functionallity.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 4 weeks later...
jimgreen Apprentice

jimgreen

Posted
  • Author
Posted (edited)

Hi guys, only just got the car into the garage to do some fault finding.

Some questions please!!

1) Fuel is getting injected, so the ECU has to be ok right?

2) No spark is reaching the dizzy. So coil pack or backward must be toast?

3) I need to know how to check the coil, does anyone have a manual to hand? I get 12v on one of the wires, and only a small fluctuation on another.

Thanks for the help!!

Edited by jimgreen
Link to comment
Share on other sites
TeflonTom Mentor

TeflonTom

Posted
Posted

there should be 3 wires on the coil,

pin 1 ground -v

pin 2 ignition signal

pin 3 ignition switched live +v

pin 2 should kind of pulse at half the engine rpm, it it is pulsing then you can rule out a crank sensor/hall sender problem and look to getting a new coil, be careful if you are going to test the coil because it can generate in excess of 20,000 volts, also test test the ht leads while you are there

oh btw is it a 1.3 or 1.6?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
anewman Experienced

anewman

Posted
Posted

I believe there is a test inspection cover that flipped back on the front of the coil and this is used in conjunction with the main coil connector to test the amount of resistance as described in Haynes.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
TeflonTom Mentor

TeflonTom

Posted
Posted

it will be a single point injection one, i'm just applying some logic to it in my mind, if you are getting fuel then it's not the crank sensor, and by getting a flutter on the LT you have proven it works, have you tried pulling off the ht king lead and placing it near the engine to see if the sparks when you crank the engine?

you can rule out the fuse becuase the coil/amp comes off the same fuse as the ecu and you wouldn't be getting any fuel if it was blown

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.

  • Community Partner

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Welcome to BRISKODA. Please note the following important links Terms of Use. We have a comprehensive Privacy Policy. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.