Masked Marauder

I was led to believe it was in the regulator on this alternator. In any case I doubt the diodes will be damaged. The damage to the wires is most likely a corroded connection where the wire went into the terminal. I know I have not tested the alternator, but I doubt there is anything much wrong with it. Whilst the wires melting is clearly heat-related I can not see what it could have short circuted onto if the wire was connected into the internal fusebox correctly. And as for the diodes being deep inside the alternator, there are many many alternators were the diode pack is plugged into the casing. Perhaps not on this one, like I said, I was led to believe they were in the regulator.

If it was not for the fact that I am so damned busy I would take a drive down and help.

;;;voltageregulator.pdf

;;;alternator_brushes.pdf

OK mumof6, I have had a look at the service manual and changing the brushes or voltage regulator (diode pack) is easy peasy lemon squeezy. So why not whip it off and have a look.... dieselalternatorstrip.pdf

It is going to be a bit heavy to post it up tbh. Let me see what I can find out overhaul wise.....

Can't agree SK. Sorry. When you kerb a tyre you can break the steel bands inside or de-laminate the layers of rubber. My money is on that being the problem. If you must mount a kerb then do it very slowly and with the tread, not the sidewall.

I mean your battery will be about 70 amps, so 90 amp alternator. Although I doubt much will be wrong with your alternator. Ring round a few places, we have someone who overhauls your alternator for about

My fuel temperature sensor is faulty and the car runs fine. Try unplugging the MAF and see if there is any difference.

You should have the heater, it was pretty much standard kit on a diesel. It is located underneath the car just by the back passenger side door.

It certainly sounds like a fulty thermostat, and yes it will be using more fuel too.

Generally an alternator will only need brushes changing or a new diode pack. A refurbished one will also have new bearings and the commutator re-trued, but if your going for economy then the brushes are the first thing to try if you are going down the DIY route.

Ah, more information! Most likely an air lock in the rear pipes has caused the heater to shut down from overheating. That will require resetting by the dealer if it has.

I can not agree more, even though it only takes a few psi to float the mains and big-ends at idle it is clearly no where nearly enough pressure under load. A proper oil pressure guage is the way forwards with any car.

No, the thermal switch is in the scuttle, clipped to the wiper mechanism. http://www.bigtrucker.co.uk/images/heaterswitch.jpg It is on the right hand side and is circled in the image above.

What have you got to lose? Will it not fit with the bigger pully and a longer belt?

Makes you wonder why they use a RED light for the oil pressure warning.... No oil pressure for any more than a few seconds and the engine needs rebuilt, and I think yours will be well beyond that.

Well clearly it is making a vacuum. So next stage is to check the hoses to the vacuum sphere and the sphere its self. It's job is to store a vacuum in the system.

First of all, remove the plug from the thermal switch and put a 10A mini-fuse in the connector instead. Now see if it works, it should if the coolant is anywhere below normal running temperature. If it still does not work then you need to hook it up to VAG-COM and check for error codes. If you don't have VAG-COM then you need to remove the glow plug and check it's operation.

When the picture was taken the pollen filter was about eight weeks old....

They just wear away chap. Perhaps the ones I get are not really designed for semi-regular use.

Reading through the troubleshooting, it simply says to disconnect the indicator circut from the fuse-box and turn the ignition on. If the lights remain lit then it is a wiring fault, if not you need a new fuse-box. It seems the indicator flasher unit is built in. I am tired though and will search more for you in the morning if I get time.

This might help:W52Z1203.pdf

http://www.bigtrucker.co.uk/images/heaterswitch.jpg This is the switch. You can just make out the connector with a 10A mini-fuse plugged into it in the right of the picture.