Club 80-90 Forums

well....what a day, van broke down and the golf has a suspected head gasket problem....bbbooooo!!!!

just wanted to pick peoples brains about the van.. the alternator is charging, getting a good voltage from the small blue wire, im assuming this is the right one, problem is that there is no charge at the battery either the leisure or main one.

does this blue wire run straight to the battery to charge it or is there a more conveluted route (i bet there is!!)

alternator light is doing all the right things, comes on, goes off when the engine is up and running.

there are two relays under the drivers seat which are part of the split charge system they are clicking away suggaesting there is charge there just nothing at the batteries

btw its a 1.9dg manual leisuredrive conversion


daz

Sounds like you may just need a new brush pack for the alternator. You can verify if its doing anything by sticking a meter across the battery and see if the voltage goes up when you rev it and ignition light goes out.

it is working, there is voltage coming from the alternator, the voltage isnt making it to the battery. the light comes on ignition then goes off on startup the voltage on the battery doesnt go up when you meter it when the engine is running although the light goes off
daz

have you got any spare relays you could try daz

there are two relays under the drivers seat which are part of the split charge system

what's the zig set to ? it's a bit convoluted the wiring of said set up, but there should be voltage at the end of the cable at the drivers side battery as that's connected to the starter to the alternator, unless you have a loose connection at the starter

dug wrote: the golf has a suspected head gasket problem....bbbooooo!!!!

daz

Don't rush in, there are 2 other things on an 8V Golf engine that can look like head gasket probs.

1 = Oil cooler leaky
2 = The breather gauze inside the cam cover is gunged up (many folk have replaced their Golf / Scirocco engine because of the symptoms caused by this) - If you suspect this, let me know, I know a good fix.

sorted...as the alternator wire runs through the starter i cleaned off all the connections and the faces where the starter meets the gear box, replaced the earth strap for good measuer and hey presto we're off again.....just the golf to contend with now...cheers for the advice ghost...its a16v btw dont know if that makes any odds. the thing thats confusing me is the coolant level comming up...i'll think about this one on another day i think

dug wrote:sorted...

dug wrote: Just the golf to contend with now...cheers for the advice ghost...its a 16v btw don't know if that makes any odds. the thing that's confusing me is the coolant level coming up...I'll think about this one on another day I think

Ahh - the common head gasket symptoms that I was referring to are only applicable to the 8V engine.
The 16V does have an oil cooler though (iirc) and so that could be the cause.
Mind you the coolant level coming up is not a good sign re head gasket issues

just keeping a keen eye on it at the mo
cheers for the advice
daz