Fixed Alternator Problem

Well after taking the alternator and battery out of the golf well before xmas, I put the mk1 out of action for breaking down on me!!!!!

On returning to my garage after xmas I found that having another look at the engine bay the link harness to the alternator was burnt out/cut in half  :idea:

Well went to work yesterday and got the electrical harness guys to make me up a new one, then got a new alternator socket and heat shrinked the thing up.

Put the car back together and it started and ran perfect after being sat for 5 weeks over the xmas period, took it out for a spin and realised how much fun a mk1 really is. Sorry for every doubting it!!!!

Anyway, two things:

1) check your link leads as the guys at work said over time wires do give up, hence causing a breakdown.

2) should there be an earth wire to the alternator?? the Haynes says yes but I don't have any leads in my engine bay. Can someone have a look for me???

Cheers.

Tom et al

Beware the "Black Wire Syndrome" !!!!!

'appen one of our brilliant electrickery guys can explain that one, but the (copper) wires just turn black but otherwise look wholesome. In fact they have so much internal resitance that you can hardly drag a single electron through them….they also fall apart when you just look at them…'tis a problem I have to watch out for with my (older) model airyplane battery leads…I disconnect the radio batteries when I'm not going to fly one for a while….'appen suggest that those guys who have their golfs laid up do likewise

Cheers

Yes, I've had the 'black wire syndrome' particularly happens on high current wires. Had to re-build a lot of the wiring loom on my golf due to this and other problems. I've done it fairly well you'd never tell (mostly using the loom from another golf that was in better condition)

As far as I know there's no earth wire directly to the alternator, but there is an earth wire that earths the engine to the chassis, and the alternator will in turn be earthed through this as well. Not sure where it is as standard, as I've added it myself on mine as it was missing when I brought the car! How it started I'll never know!

Good thinking Maniac, hadn't thought that the engine earth wire would be the link shown on the circuit diagram for the Alternator.

Good luck with those nasty 'black wires'.

as for the earth on my 76 the only car i ever sene with this the two holes were the long bolt goes through onto the bracket on the block has rubber bungs(grommets) so hence the earth it was a tiny braided wire bolts to the block

I had a MK2 GTI a long time ago, the engine went up in flames at the front near the radiator. I pulled over as flames appeared from the bonnet! opened the bonnet up and ripped off the live connector to the battery. Luckly the connectors were loose. The reason why the car went up was because the thick red lead to the alternator was clipped on by a metal bracket to the engine, the rubbing motion rubbed off the insulation and the core of the wire was in contact with earth. IMO a design fault by VW.