fraser33
08-01-2010, 10:20 AM
Hi folks,
For the past few weeks, I've had a slight growling noise coming from the front end of my '02 Passat 130 TDi. Nothing major, but certainly audible, more so at low revs. It was also getting increasingly noisy when parking and turning the wheels.
Last night, I started the car, first time, and the error message "Alternator Workshop!" appeared on the dash, along with the battery warning light. The steering was incredibly heavy too. Once I’d pulled away a few minutes late, having got things thawed out, various electrical components quit on me: the heated driver’s seat went cold, fan went off, dash lights dimmed, then assorted warning lights lit up on the dash, eg ABS, handbrake, traction control. All instruments lights finally went out completely. I checked the headlights and rear lights were still working, along with indicators, which they were. After a 5 minute journey, I stopped the car, then tried to restart it but the battery was completely flat. (I’d got a new battery about a month or two back, so it shouldn’t be that) After another 45 minutes, I tried starting the car again and it caught first time. However a few hundred yards along the road, the same shut-down situation commenced, dash lights dimming, fan off, warning lights coming on. All this time, the steering is non power-assisted.
By coincidence, I’d got the car booked in with a trusted mechanic for its MOT tomorrow, so have asked him to look at this electrical issue too. I’ve done a search on the forums and found various threads re power-steering and ‘alternator workshop’ messages, but am wondering if the subsequent electrical issues I’ve experienced are a normal follow-on from what I’m hoping is a simple alternator / belt fault? Any assistance or suggestions would be gratefully received. :1zhelp:
Fraser
For the past few weeks, I've had a slight growling noise coming from the front end of my '02 Passat 130 TDi. Nothing major, but certainly audible, more so at low revs. It was also getting increasingly noisy when parking and turning the wheels.
Last night, I started the car, first time, and the error message "Alternator Workshop!" appeared on the dash, along with the battery warning light. The steering was incredibly heavy too. Once I’d pulled away a few minutes late, having got things thawed out, various electrical components quit on me: the heated driver’s seat went cold, fan went off, dash lights dimmed, then assorted warning lights lit up on the dash, eg ABS, handbrake, traction control. All instruments lights finally went out completely. I checked the headlights and rear lights were still working, along with indicators, which they were. After a 5 minute journey, I stopped the car, then tried to restart it but the battery was completely flat. (I’d got a new battery about a month or two back, so it shouldn’t be that) After another 45 minutes, I tried starting the car again and it caught first time. However a few hundred yards along the road, the same shut-down situation commenced, dash lights dimming, fan off, warning lights coming on. All this time, the steering is non power-assisted.
By coincidence, I’d got the car booked in with a trusted mechanic for its MOT tomorrow, so have asked him to look at this electrical issue too. I’ve done a search on the forums and found various threads re power-steering and ‘alternator workshop’ messages, but am wondering if the subsequent electrical issues I’ve experienced are a normal follow-on from what I’m hoping is a simple alternator / belt fault? Any assistance or suggestions would be gratefully received. :1zhelp:
Fraser