Aircooled VW South Africa

Hey guys,

Can anyone recommend a decent auto electrician who has experience with ACVW wiring in the Pretoria/Centurion area? I need my Fastbacks wiring to be checked over sometime in the next month or so....Can be a company or privateer, doesn't really make a difference

Dirk from FIM Dienste is quite an ACVW electric boffin, he also makes wring looms for Beetles and Buses

Thanks Pine. Didn't know that Dirk does wiring as well. Fastback is going there to have the brakes sorted, so will chat to him about the wiring as well.

Any suggestions for an autolec in the Germiston area?

My alternator (non ACVW - Mercedes 230 4-cylinder) is busy dying - the voltage ramps up to 16volts at normal operating speeds, and I have to run with all my accessories on to keep voltages under 14,5 or end up cooking everything. Not pleasant...

Thing is, with the weather the way it is at the moment, I can't really use the Aqua to and from work every day - I'll end up driving in the rain and that's NO fun with the Aqua... especially on the way TO work...

what type of alternator does it have??
might be just the regulator that needs changing.

I'll have to look when I get home today - I can't get under her to look at the moment...

I think you're right - the regulator or whatever it is they have in alternators seems to be dying, 'cause when I start her up in the morning, the voltage is perfectly healthy, running at around 13,5 volts - but once I get onto the road and the revs go up, the voltage can suddenly hit 16 volts and stay there for a while. It's getting worse by the day.

Do you think it's possible to replace that regulator myself? Maybe I should get the altie out tonight, and remove the regulator, and then try to get a replacement tomorrow... which means only one day in the Aqua...

Damnit, why wasn't I born filthy rich instead of irresistibly good-looking?

it takes 10 minutes to replace that regulator, held on with two screws if you have the one with the internal regulator...

If it looks like the one below.

I believe the alternator looks like the middle one of these three:



I'll take it off tonight and have a good squiz, see if I can remove the regulator or maybe just take the whole thing to the spares people and ask them for the regulator.

Thanks!

Your first step is to determine if it's internally or externally regulated...

So far, so (cautiously) good!!!

On my way home, stopped off at a buddy's place (Gio's Autoelectrical Supplies - he doesn't do autolec work, he just supplies components), and he shone a light in there, and lo and behold! It looks ed-zachary like the one you posted the pic of, Blitz!

So he gave me a regulator for it - R90-00 - and I came home, let the engine cool for an hour, removed the altie (easier said than done, I admit), removed the old regulator (genuine Bosch part), polished up the slip rings with some fine sandpaper, cleaned up the heat-sink and the mounting-points for the regulator, installed the regulator, replaced the altie, and took her out for a test drive. Voltage sits at 14,05 all the way from idle through to redline with no accessories running, and if I put lights on, aircon on, and fan on high, she pushes out 13,05 at idle, 14.0 at cruising revs... Not bad, methinks...

We'll see how it goes for the next couple of days, but it looks sorted. It actually seems better than it has for the last year or three...

Thanks for the help and confidence-boost, guys!