Think my Alternator has gone ? A4 2.5 V6

[MagicMat]

Hi Guys,

Driving home last night and my battery light came on

Got the car up in the air and the aux belt is still on and tight. Put a multimeter on the alternator and i was getting 12v and with the lights on only 11.97v...battery is putting out 12v

So im guessing the alternator is packing up.

So i set about removing it and taking the cam belt covers off so i could get to the AUX tensioner and remove the belt etc etc.

However i just couldnt get the cover off !

so Questions:

Am i right in thinking its the alternator?
and tips on removing the bloody thing??

Cheers

Matt

[MagicMat]

done a search on the forum and cant find any information on the alternator or how to take of the aux belt,

Can any one point me in the right direction?

Cheers

[Crasher]

I have literally just finished one on a 2002 A6, a right pig of a job that took three hours. The whole front of the car, fan, covers and a good deal else have to come off and genuine alternators are flippin expensive BUT they come with a two year labour inclusive warranty so are worth it.

[MagicMat]

Hi Crasher

I was afraid you'd say it was a nightmere !

I got all the engine covers off apart from the lower cambelt cover and gave up at 9:30 pm ! .. i'll start stripping parts off then, like the electric fan etc to give me some more space.

But do i need to remove the front bumper and radiator?? ... please say i dont have to !

Sadly i dont have a manual for the V6... Can you give me any clues on where the Aux belt tensioner is? after that i can try to unbolt the alternator.

Regarding prices... I had a look on Vagcat.com and it seemes that alternators are 235 euro plus ! ... i doubt i'll have the car for two years so i may just get one from GSF, or get this one reconditioned !

And just like the golf i wont be taking this one to a garage .. i signed for my first mortgage yesterday and the alternator went on the way home !! needles to say im abit skint atm

But im laughing...because otherwise i'll be crying !

[Crasher]

Sorry but I can’t see how you will do it without pulling the front of the car forward into what is called “the service position”, you may find a way but it would have taken me longer struggling without moving the front but I really can’t see how you would do it. If you get some very long (100-mm) M8 bolts, you can slide the front of the car forward on these and lock it in place with mole grips so you don’t have to take the carrier/radiator off, just the bumper. The auxiliary belt tensioner is behind the lower cover on the left of the engine, the right as you look down at it.

[MagicMat]

Hi crasher,

Thanks for your response that made things alot clearer.

I had no idea you could slide the front of the car forwards into a 'service position' ! .. I guess i'll take the bumper off and start stripping it down !

Think i prefer to work on the 1.9 engine !

I'll try to take some pictures too and post up my efforts.

Cheers

Matt

[MagicMat]

google has shed some more light on this

Service position is gained by removing the 8 bolts and inserting two long M8 bolts to slide the front end forwards.

With the extra room i should be able to see what im doing and get the alternator off !

[Crasher]

You can buy slider posts to put in one bumper bracket hole each side, I have a pair made by AST and some genuine ones for cars with M10 bolts. All you do is put the bolt in each side replacing one of the bracket bolts and slid it forward, the hoses and connections are designed to allow this. The 1.9 still needs to be put into service position for some jobs such as the alternator but I know some people have worked around this.

[MagicMat]

Hi Crasher,

Thanks for the very informative post

I'd just been searching google and found this to be quite useful with some pictures etc.

http://eurowerks.org/showthread.php?t=10063

.. I'll probably make up some 100mm M8 bolts rather than buying a kit...no delivery to wait for and cheaper that way !

Im really glad you told me about the service position... I wasnt too happy with the engine bay last night ! not funny !

Will report back with my efforts

[vwcabriolet1971]

It's always worth while to get alternator tested off the car before buying new unit. It may be that the regulator is faulty or the brushes are worn. Most "classic" car alternator specialists will test & if necessary fit new regulator for about £35. It's quite rare for coils to short .