Crasher can you help? mk3 TDi problem

[chackday]

Im hoping crasher from C&R in nottingham can help me on this one

Hi Crasher,
I got your details off another member as i was having problems with my golf, i have since registered in order to get in touch with you, i rang your garage today and was told to ring between 5 and 530 for your free advice session, but i thought I would send you a pm 1st to see if everyone else can benefit from your knowledge as well and i will also put this post on the forum if you want to answer it there.

My problem has been frustrating me for the last few weeks, I have a MK3 TDi 1995 GL 90 BHP model. originally the starter motor was burnt out as soon as i put the ignition on the motor would spin and start the car and carry on spinning even when the car is started. I have had the motor replaced and the problem is still there so to avoid burning it out again I have to put the ignition on then disconnect the wire from the starter motor straight away. This however solves this problem temporarily as it allows me to drive the car so long as i dont stop.

But the other problem is that the battery light stays on in the dash board and charge dies after around 20minutes, i was told to change the ignition switch to solve the starter problem, i did this and problem is still there.

next ive been told to change the alternator but i didnt want to keep changing random parts and wasting money. So i got my brother to do a diagnosis on his machine and it came up with error code "01117 - generator df terminal load signal" , which i have been told is something to do with having a faulty alternator.

apologise for the lengthy post but im struggling as to what i should do next as im not convinced that even if i put in a new alternator which may or may not solve the problem of my battery dying, will it stop the starter motor from contstantly spinning over as soon as i put the ignition on

could you please help as its really frustrating me and i have even put the car on ebay with no reserve as im getting quite sick of throwing money at it, this forum is my last resort otherwise someone is going to pick up a great car at bargain price and fix it for next to nothing. im not a mechanic so there is a limit to my technical hands on abilities.

please help

Regards

[Crasher]

That suggests that a voltage is being applied to the line 50 wire (the red/black) even when the ignition key is released so yes, the first thought would be ignition switch. I presume that when you turn the ignition off and back on again that the problem goes away until you re-engage the starter? For the line 50 wire to do this means that it has a short somewhere (I would suspect under the battery as this is a common area for harness damage) but from my assumption of it resetting after ignition off I would guess that the car has an aftermarket alarm/immobiliser that intercepts the red/black wire as it comes out of the ignition switch at pin 50 to the fuse box plug H1 pin 1 or where it then comes out of the fuse box at plug F pin 1 going off into the engine bay through the bulkhead.

[chackday]

as soon as i switch ignition off whilst starter is still plugged in then the engine does stop yes, but switch to ign on(not start) and it starts firing up again, pardon me but im not that familiar with understanding the electrics, would you recommend changing the alternator then or do you think thats part of the same problem, I am actually in nottingham although i am away for the weekend, obviously if i can try and sort it out with your help from the forum that would be great(if you can provide a detailed description with pics perhaps), the other alternative is if i tow it to your place in nottingham how much would you charge to diagnose and roughly what am i looking at spending on it in total (my friend can fit an alternator for me at 'mates rates' , so I'd rather do that before paying for labour costs at your garage), oh yes and it does have some sort of disconnected alarm system on it but i was given no fob or anything for it. As you can imagine ive spent a fortune on it already and its ran out of tax as well so may have to pay someone to tow it down to your place(more money down the drain). If you think you can give me a quote or some guidance then I may fix it otherwise im tempted to just get shut of it for whatever it fetches on ebay.
thanks

[Crasher]

I can’t see a way that the alternator would cause this although it may still be faulty. If there was a power feed from the alternator into line 50 when runing then yes but this happens before the engine fires up. I can only think that it is to do with the alarm disconnection and that is where I would start. I would follow the red/black wire along until I found where power was being applied to it. That should take an hour at the most, to at least establish what needs to be done so about £50.

[chackday]

ok so if the problem is what you think it is will i be looking at say £50 plus any other costs if you can give me a toal estimate and I'll try and have a quick look myself otherwise I'll try and get it towed into your place sometime within the next week or so

[Crasher]

Well it may be that in an hour I can find and repair the fault but wiring faults can be hard to track down, it is difficult to be more precise than that. To look at this yourself, remove the lower steering column trim and the lower dash trim. Disconnect the battery and drop down the fuse box. Follow the thick red/black from the ignition switch to the fuse box and look for any intercepts in the wire. If there are none, find the same wire as it comes out of the fuse box and goes forward to the bulkhead, again looking for intercepts.

[chackday]

I'll have a look and see what i can do and will be in touch

thanks for all your help

[Crasher]

Do you realise what I mean by intercepts now? The notification sent me your original reply.

[chackday]

yes lol had a bit of a dumb moment, so if i find intercept should i disconnect it if its leading to an old alarm system? im going to give it a go on monday

[Crasher]

Anything on that wire should be eliminated, there are no takes off's of any kind according to the wiring diagram.