[T3] Endless Problems, update....

[Jim Adney]

On 8 Dec 2010 at 23:11, Bobsnotch at aol.com wrote:

> In a message dated 12/8/2010 10:22:18 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,  
> jadney at vwtype3.org writes:
> 
> And,  BTW, I forgot to mention that the generator idiot light being 
> out does not  always mean that the charging system is working. It will 
> come on in some  failure modes, but not in all failures.

> Yeah, I found that out on my way home from the Invasion. I had the lights  
> on, and car running, but no real issues until I pulled the car into the 
> garage  and parked it. Then the idiot light came on with the key off. We 
> unloaded the  rear seat, so I could unplug the battery (which turned off the 
> light). The next  morning, I changed the VR, and the brushes, and all is good 
> again. : ) The light  never came on while cruising.  

The light was actually working correctly in that case. Your system 
was working as expected as long as the engine was running, but one of 
the relay contacts in the VR had welded shut. This was fine, as long 
as the engine was running, but once you stopped the engine, those 
points were expected to open. When they didn't, the light came on, 
signaling a fault.

The best way to deal with this particular fault is to restart the 
engine until you can get to the battery or the VR. Then shut off the 
engine and disconnect the battery quickly.

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Jim Adney, jadney at vwtype3.org
Madison, Wisconsin, USA
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