[T3] does anyone use the newer or replacement voltage regulator?

[William Jahn]

The clock does not have a fuse yet I have had it unplugged for at least a
year. The radio is not stock and has the presets and clock memory . It's a
Sony from 97 I got new then . it has a small swich in case you don't have
an acc ign position which these cars don't where the ign is off . Point is
you can set that small switch so you still have the memory circuit live at
all times yet power off the radio and display by pressing the off button on
the radio. It;s mainly the yellow memory hot all the time with this switch
set the red power lead is powered off the yellow .

  " The clock display goes off on those radios when
you turn the car off, but there's a second power wire that keeps the clock
memory and timing going, even when the car and the radio are turned off.
That might draw about the amount of current you saw. If that was part of
your
extra draw, I would have expected it to drop when you removed the red/wht
wire from the VR."

 Yes this is why I first disconnected the red/wht from the VR to the fuse
box , to rule out anything powered by any fuse that's hot key off If I
recall there are 3 of 4 . Then I pulled the Red/Wht lead from the battery +
to the VR same dual 1/4" male spade on the VR that also feeds everything .
the draw was gone . Put the R/W lead back on to the dash draw was still
gone until I plug back the R/W from the Batt + to VR then it's back. I know
the VR is what draws the close to 5 mA even removed the other leads to the
Gen no change.

 All I can think of is I see three diodes on the top of the VR there maybe
more inside and one may allow flow in both directions , with power from the
battery R/W lead to the VR and the gen leads off the only current path
would have to be to ground . Even with the gen leads connected ign off I
don't read any voltage at the gen plus on a 73 it has it's own ground gen
to VR plus the reg is also grounded to the chassis. Been so long since I've
looked inside the old style VR I forgot all other than the two coils and
contacts and they either seem to not allow the gen to charge or over charge
so far I've only had a no charge condition on ones that did work and the
original was so full  of rust it would  stick and not charge then free up
and work . I had new old style in this car and both quit charging and each
lasted about a year and they were Bosch not standard IGN or some other
brand. I removed the covers yet forget which coil winding burned out it was
not an adjustment issue . I replaced the rusted one with a new one then not
long after the car began running bad and at the time I didn't have a dash
voltmeter and it was like you expressed in another post on your 71 how the
brake lights didn't work and it was a fuse , well didn't hit me because the
reg was not very old to even check the voltage then it hit me , check the
simple things first. That was a first for me.

 Not as bad as some so called tech at Ford , power doors locks kept cycling
then quit , he had every door panel off and the carpet up and I had no car
to work on , wandered around and saw him asked what the H.  I looked in the
cargo area ford explorer see this big cooler in back open the lift gate and
knew there was a lock switch right there , lifted the cooler off the switch
problem solved except how is this tech going to write the repair to cover
everything he removed , good thing it was warranty and not cust paid.

 Still I spent hours because I didn't think to check what the charging
system was doing. All I can do is break the ground to the reg and see it
the draw goes away , you cannot take the new ones apart before I do the no
ground I need to double check to see if the draw ends with the gen D+ and
DF disconnected just to rule them out and check and not depend on memory.
MIne also has the extra D+ gen lead to the test plug I cut the silver lead
near the VR to use the wire for a gauge doubt if the black lead has some
issue . I just don't want to buy another VR only to find out it was
something else or perhaps they all draw what I see. I would think VW would
have mounted the VR on the back of the panel where the power relay is and
not in some corner like it is.

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On Thu, Aug 16, 2018 at 6:24 PM, Jim Adney <jadney at vwtype3.org> wrote:

> On 16 Aug 2018 at 16:21, willjahn wrote:
>
> > I find when I check for a parasitic drain and found 4.85 mA it is when I
> > disconnect the red/white lead from the battery to the VR . I first pulled
> > fuse #9 on my 73 where the radio is connected and it dropped from 8.6 mA
> > to 4.85. Then I pulled the red /white from the VR to the fuse box no
> > change . A while back I contacted Bosch and they didnTMt have a schematic
> > or even have a clue how it worked.
>
> It's not too surprising that the local Bosch sales staff would not have
> schematics for their new VRs, but I'm surprised that they drain even this
> insignificant amount. OTOH, I'm sure the clock takes more, and I don't
> think
> it's on any of the accessible fuses.
>
> I wouldn't expect the radio to draw any current, unless it's a later
> aftermarket
> radio with a digital clock. The clock display goes off on those radios
> when
> you turn the car off, but there's a second power wire that keeps the clock
> memory and timing going, even when the car and the radio are turned off.
> That might draw about the amount of current you saw. If that was part of
> your
> extra draw, I would have expected it to drop when you removed the red/wht
> wire from the VR.
>
> I don't know why any of the Sapphire radios would draw any current when
> they are off.
>
> --
> *******************************
> Jim Adney, jadney at vwtype3.org
> Madison, Wisconsin, USA
> *******************************
>
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