Hi, I know this has been discussed before. My 2002 1.9 TDI Octavia suddenly stooped charging, the first I knew was a dead battery, no warning light. I needed a new battery anyway so I bought one, I then put a new regulator / brush holder in the alternator, still no charging so I swapped out the alternator. No charging but the battery light is now on constantly.. The other thing to happen is today the glow plug light has started to flash.. I've ordered ordered a bag com lead and whilst waiting for that to arrive I will be trying to chase wires with my multimeter... But does anyone have any ideas? I can't afford an auto Lecky because money is tight so have to try to repair this myself. Many thanks ... Melz

When you changed the battery did you notice any melting of the plastic on the fuse box above the battery? Overheating is caused by a high resistance at the end of the alternator cable or the crimp connection. The charge current is reduced by the increased resistance but not enough to bring on the charge warning light but the battery will slowly discharge if you have on a high load such as lights, heated screen or seats.

Do a search on here as this is a common problem. Some posts have photos showing melted fuse holder and "Black Death" inside the first few inches of the cable.

Hi. I have since stripped the battery box out, checked all earths, chased all the cabling back with a multi meter.undone and re connected all the connectors. There is no overheating however when I put it all together the charging system startedmto work, with a full 14.35 volts under load. So I suspect it was a loose wire or connection that I inadvertently corrected as I was working through the wires. My bag com tells me however that there is an intermittent fault on the regulator. I will keep my eyes on this. Many thanx for your response pikpilot,.....Melz