How to Confirm Your Volkswagen Got a Failing Alternator?

Is your Volkswagen having electrical problems? If yes, then the fault can be with the battery or the alternator. Alternator is one of the main parts of the electrical systems in your car. So you have to get to the root cause of the issue and this can be only done by inspection and looking for the signs. If your battery is good, then culprit can be the alternator. If you wanna know if your alternator is failing or not, then this article is for you.

The alternator

Alternator is the main part of the charging system and one of the most important parts in electrical systems in your car. So the work of the alternator is to generate electrical energy from mechanical energy of the engine. So to get mechanical energy it has to only work when the car is running. The electrical energy generated from alternator is used to charge the battery and supply power to engine to burn fuel and run the car. So production of electricity and supply of power is indirectly done by the alternator. The alternator also requires maintenance, protection and replacement because it also wears and tears.

Driving with a faulty alternator is possible but only with a charged battery. If your battery has no charge and the alternator is not working at all, then you will not able to even start your car. If your battery is charged, then you will be able to drive your car only for some distance, lesser electric accessories you’ll use and more distance you can travel. Because the engine and every electric equipment in your car will be powered by battery only.

How to know that your alternator is failing?

A failing alternator can cause all sorts of electrical issues in your car. To repair the alternator early and to prevent some further damage to the electrical systems, you need to know the most possible signs when the alternator fails. Here are some most common signs -

Red battery warning

There are many warning lights on the dashboard to warn the driver of any problems, battery warning light shows problems in the battery. If the warning light is of red color, then the condition is serious. When the battery gets fully discharged, the red battery warning light gets on. As the alternator fails to charge the battery properly, the battery supplies the power to the engine as well as all electrical components and gets drained out of power easily.

Lights become dim

While driving, you will notice the headlights and the interior lights as well become dim and sometimes become very bright, this is due to inconsistent power supply from the alternator. The driving becomes irritating if such thing occurs while driving in dark night.

Engine cranking slowly

If the alternator is faulty, then the battery will not get charged properly and if this happens then your engine will not start and it will crank very slowly. This cranking occurs if the alternator is faulty as well as the battery is very low.

Dead battery

The battery becomes dead when you drive your car for long while the alternator is bad. The alternator will not able to charge the battery while the engine and other accessories use power from the battery. The battery will be fully discharged and the engine will too die.

Clicking sound with no start

Sometimes, due to very low power in the battery and bad alternator, when you try to start the engine, the solenoid is activated but not the starter due to which you will hear a clicking sound but the engine will not start. This condition is also called stalling.

Testing the alternator

Another way to know if the alternator is failing or not is by testing it, here are some steps to test the alternator electrically by using a multi meter or a voltmeter.

1. The golf is made to start and the black cable is connected to negative terminal of the battery and red cable to the negative terminal.
2. The voltage readings should be taken while the engine is running. The reading should be between 13.5 - 14.8v.
3. The accessories like headlight, ac fan at full speed, etc are turned on at golf. Then the voltage is again checked.
4. The voltage should be 14v, if the voltage drops below 13.5v then there must be some problem with the alternator.
5. If the voltage is even less than 12v then know that there is no current supply from alternator and the accessories are operating by the power from battery.

Conclusion

Whenever you drive a car having failed alternator, make sure your battery is charged and try not to use more accessories in the car. Better you should only drive in this situation if you have to take your car to garage for repairing the alternator.

DreamCars Auto Repair is a specialized European Auto Repair shop and parts store in the High Desert of Hesperia, CA. It is a AAA approved facility & the only authorized Bosch service center in the High Desert with highly trained ASE