12SI alternator troublshooting: DOH: the ignominious denoument

On 1/19/2010 3:42 PM, Nate Nagel wrote:
> dsi1 wrote:
>> On 1/19/2010 1:17 PM, Ed Treijs wrote:
>>> One of the fun things about working on cars is you go into shops that
>>> are a bit of history.
>>>
>>> I went to an auto electrical place. Big shop, full of parts and
>>> assemblies and tools and meters. One really old guy (he said something
>>> about being 80) sitting in the office, otherwise no activity. I said I
>>> needed a rectifier bridge and I wanted new bearings. He wound up
>>> giving me a preassembled 12SI end frame, including rectifier bridge,
>>> new regulator and brushes, new bearing, new diode trio. And a drive
>>> end bearing. All for $20. (If anyone in the Toronto area is
>>> interesting, the shop is Starter King, on Lockport, off Shorncliffe,
>>> south of Dundas.)
>>>
>>> I did have to go back, because the drive end bearing he gave me was
>>> the wrong size. Got the right one, and he showed me how to press it in
>>> using the hand press. Much easier than my basement-wall-stud
>>> destroying technique to press the old bearing out.
>>>
>>> I won't get around to installing the re-rebuilt alternator until
>>> Saturday. At least I know the bearings are good, and I really cleaned
>>> up the slip rings. New electronic components--should work great. And
>>> I've learned about alternator construction. All for $20. Can't beat
>>> that.
>>
>> You sure can't. We had a shop called "Starters and Alternator" right
>> down our street and I loved that place. One time the guy rebuilt my
>> alternator (or was it a starter?) and another time he swapped me for
>> one on the shelf. Unfortunately, they moved away soon after. That's
>> the breaks.
>
> I *so* wish I had a place like that around here. I need to get a VW
> Corrado alternator rebuilt, and the only places I know that'd do it for
> me are in Annapolis or Springfield. "ordering" a reman from the parts
> store is approaching the value of the car.

Can the alternator shop around the corner do a Corrado rebuild? More
importantly, can anybody do a rebuild on the supercharger on these? Now
that's a scary question! Other than that, I'd sure love to have one of
those but I suppose in my case, it's better to wish for one than to
actually have that dream come true.

>
> nate
>

dsi1 wrote:
> On 1/19/2010 3:42 PM, Nate Nagel wrote:
>> dsi1 wrote:
>>> On 1/19/2010 1:17 PM, Ed Treijs wrote:
>>>> One of the fun things about working on cars is you go into shops that
>>>> are a bit of history.
>>>>
>>>> I went to an auto electrical place. Big shop, full of parts and
>>>> assemblies and tools and meters. One really old guy (he said something
>>>> about being 80) sitting in the office, otherwise no activity. I said I
>>>> needed a rectifier bridge and I wanted new bearings. He wound up
>>>> giving me a preassembled 12SI end frame, including rectifier bridge,
>>>> new regulator and brushes, new bearing, new diode trio. And a drive
>>>> end bearing. All for $20. (If anyone in the Toronto area is
>>>> interesting, the shop is Starter King, on Lockport, off Shorncliffe,
>>>> south of Dundas.)
>>>>
>>>> I did have to go back, because the drive end bearing he gave me was
>>>> the wrong size. Got the right one, and he showed me how to press it in
>>>> using the hand press. Much easier than my basement-wall-stud
>>>> destroying technique to press the old bearing out.
>>>>
>>>> I won't get around to installing the re-rebuilt alternator until
>>>> Saturday. At least I know the bearings are good, and I really cleaned
>>>> up the slip rings. New electronic components--should work great. And
>>>> I've learned about alternator construction. All for $20. Can't beat
>>>> that.
>>>
>>> You sure can't. We had a shop called "Starters and Alternator" right
>>> down our street and I loved that place. One time the guy rebuilt my
>>> alternator (or was it a starter?) and another time he swapped me for
>>> one on the shelf. Unfortunately, they moved away soon after. That's
>>> the breaks.
>>
>> I *so* wish I had a place like that around here. I need to get a VW
>> Corrado alternator rebuilt, and the only places I know that'd do it for
>> me are in Annapolis or Springfield. "ordering" a reman from the parts
>> store is approaching the value of the car.
>
> Can the alternator shop around the corner do a Corrado rebuild? More
> importantly, can anybody do a rebuild on the supercharger on these? Now
> that's a scary question! Other than that, I'd sure love to have one of
> those but I suppose in my case, it's better to wish for one than to
> actually have that dream come true.

I've got two G-laders for this car, one supposedly "good used" and one
rebuilt by BBM maybe 20K miles ago but passing more oil than I'd like.
Kompressor Kanada or Bahn Brenner will rebuild 'em for you. Come on
down, bring a trailer. I need the garage space for my '55 and need to
convince the girl to either buy my 944 or find herself a car.

I can help make your dream a reality! Low low prices! (hell, if the
title were in my name, it'd be yours for a case of decent beer just to
get rid of the thing.)

nate

--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.
http://members.cox.net/njnagel

On 1/19/2010 3:49 PM, Nate Nagel wrote:
> dsi1 wrote:
>> On 1/19/2010 5:48 AM, Ed Treijs wrote:
>>> On Jan 18, 8:22 pm, > wrote:
>>>> 15.5V with no load seems awfully high - maybe your regulator is faulty?
>>>> I would think your battery would be damaged with voltages that high.
>>>
>>> 15.5V on the factory dash voltmeter corresponds to low-to-mid 14.xV
>>> measured with a proper meter across the battery terminals (or alt B+
>>> to ground). It doesn't help that the voltmeter is far to the right of
>>> my line of sight, so parallax error probably adds half a volt, in
>>> addition to its inherent inaccuracy. But that's how they made Trans
>>> Ams in the 1970s.
>>
>> I like those old cars with the voltmeters. If you had an ampmeter like
>> my mom's old car, you'd see the needle swing to the plus side for a
>> short time while the battery was charging every time the engine was
>> started or you'd see the needle blip when the lights were turned on.
>> Of course, this gave some indication of what the voltage was doing.
>>
>> My old 67 Barracuda had a big, vac gauge on the dash marked with
>> ranges for power and fuel economy. It was my favorite gauge of all
>> time and gave me an awareness of the most efficient technique of using
>> the accelerator pedal as well as engine problems. My least favorite
>> was the big single tach directly in front of the driver on an Alfa Romeo.
>>
>
> I like all of those gauges The tach front and center is nice for a
> sports/racing car where you actually care more about how fast the engine
> is turning than you are making sure you're not attracting the attention
> of the po-po.
>
> In my pickemup truck I swapped the gauge cluster for one with a tach,
> and also hung a 3-gauge cluster under the dash with oil press (never
> could get the stupid Ford "idiot gauge" to register properly, even after
> following the instructions I found on the helping friendly interwebs)
> vacuum and trans temp. I also have a tach strapped on the steering
> column of my '55 Stude and have a vacuum gauge and voltmeter under the
> dash. (it already had pretty good gauges stock; it has a 4-gauge multi
> cluster thing with fuel, oil press, engine temp, and amps) One of these
> days I'll rig up an oil temp gauge (that one's a 4-speed, so I need to
> find a "useful" gauge to fill the empty hole. I already have all the
> gauges I "need," but there's an empty hole in the add-on panel!)
>
> The older a vehicle is, the more gauges I like to have. Makes me a
> little more comfortable getting in it and driving long distances (or
> through bad neighborhoods)
>

My guess is that the older I get, the less gauges the better. Due to the
deterioration of my faculties and eyesight and god knows what else, it
takes me longer to read and comprehend gauges these days. Idiot lights
are now more my speed. That's the breaks. :-)

> nate
>

On 1/19/2010 4:11 PM, Nate Nagel wrote:

> I've got two G-laders for this car, one supposedly "good used" and one
> rebuilt by BBM maybe 20K miles ago but passing more oil than I'd like.
> Kompressor Kanada or Bahn Brenner will rebuild 'em for you. Come on
> down, bring a trailer. I need the garage space for my '55 and need to
> convince the girl to either buy my 944 or find herself a car.
>
> I can help make your dream a reality! Low low prices! (hell, if the
> title were in my name, it'd be yours for a case of decent beer just to
> get rid of the thing.)

Ha ha. I know how you feel. Your cars are wonderful examples of
engineering and design but they have a great need for money to get them
into fighting shape. If I lived next to you, I'd be happy to help you
work on them. Of course, owning one of those would be another thing!
I've learned my lesson... :-)

>
> nate
>

On Jan 19, 9:42*pm, dsi1 > wrote:
> On 1/19/2010 4:11 PM, Nate Nagel wrote:
>
> > I've got two G-laders for this car, one supposedly "good used" and one
> > rebuilt by BBM maybe 20K miles ago but passing more oil than I'd like.
> > Kompressor Kanada or Bahn Brenner will rebuild 'em for you. Come on
> > down, bring a trailer. I need the garage space for my '55 and need to
> > convince the girl to either buy my 944 or find herself a car.
>
> > I can help make your dream a reality! Low low prices! (hell, if the
> > title were in my name, it'd be yours for a case of decent beer just to
> > get rid of the thing.)
>
> Ha ha. I know how you feel. Your cars are wonderful examples of
> engineering and design but they have a great need for money to get them
> into fighting shape. If I lived next to you, I'd be happy to help you
> work on them. Of course, owning one of those would be another thing!
> I've learned my lesson... :-)

come on down. I hate working on cars, hard as that may be to
believe. I just like driving nice cars.

Only real headache cars that I've owned, believe it or not, were an
'86 BMW 535i with about 200K miles (I could have sorted it, but I
couldn't afford to) and a '89 GTI 16V (I think it was an '89? might
have been an '88?) that had sat unused for about 10 years. That one
did eventually get sorted and was sold to a friend who drove it for
several years before passing it on. The Corrado, although not
technically mine, is also a bit of a PITA but I think part of that is
that no mechanic wants to touch it. The 944 and all my other VWs have
been surprisingly trouble free, although I have had some persistent
problems with my 944 that I've had to resolve myself simply because
again I don't think mechanics like working on cars that old and don't
really take them seriously.

nate

On 1/20/2010 10:49 AM, N8N wrote:
> On Jan 19, 9:42 pm, > wrote:
>> On 1/19/2010 4:11 PM, Nate Nagel wrote:
>>
>>> I've got two G-laders for this car, one supposedly "good used" and one
>>> rebuilt by BBM maybe 20K miles ago but passing more oil than I'd like.
>>> Kompressor Kanada or Bahn Brenner will rebuild 'em for you. Come on
>>> down, bring a trailer. I need the garage space for my '55 and need to
>>> convince the girl to either buy my 944 or find herself a car.
>>
>>> I can help make your dream a reality! Low low prices! (hell, if the
>>> title were in my name, it'd be yours for a case of decent beer just to
>>> get rid of the thing.)
>>
>> Ha ha. I know how you feel. Your cars are wonderful examples of
>> engineering and design but they have a great need for money to get them
>> into fighting shape. If I lived next to you, I'd be happy to help you
>> work on them. Of course, owning one of those would be another thing!
>> I've learned my lesson... :-)
>
> come on down. I hate working on cars, hard as that may be to
> believe. I just like driving nice cars.
>
> Only real headache cars that I've owned, believe it or not, were an
> '86 BMW 535i with about 200K miles (I could have sorted it, but I
> couldn't afford to) and a '89 GTI 16V (I think it was an '89? might
> have been an '88?) that had sat unused for about 10 years. That one
> did eventually get sorted and was sold to a friend who drove it for
> several years before passing it on. The Corrado, although not
> technically mine, is also a bit of a PITA but I think part of that is
> that no mechanic wants to touch it. The 944 and all my other VWs have
> been surprisingly trouble free, although I have had some persistent
> problems with my 944 that I've had to resolve myself simply because
> again I don't think mechanics like working on cars that old and don't
> really take them seriously.

Sounds like you need to find a foreign car repair shop that has an old
guy named "Fritz." :-) The 944 is a nice ride that one hardly ever sees
anymore and I think will be a highly sought-after car in the near future.

>
> nate

On Jan 20, 4:19*pm, dsi1 > wrote:
> On 1/20/2010 10:49 AM, N8N wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> > On Jan 19, 9:42 pm, > *wrote:
> >> On 1/19/2010 4:11 PM, Nate Nagel wrote:
>
> >>> I've got two G-laders for this car, one supposedly "good used" and one
> >>> rebuilt by BBM maybe 20K miles ago but passing more oil than I'd like..
> >>> Kompressor Kanada or Bahn Brenner will rebuild 'em for you. Come on
> >>> down, bring a trailer. I need the garage space for my '55 and need to
> >>> convince the girl to either buy my 944 or find herself a car.
>
> >>> I can help make your dream a reality! Low low prices! (hell, if the
> >>> title were in my name, it'd be yours for a case of decent beer just to
> >>> get rid of the thing.)
>
> >> Ha ha. I know how you feel. Your cars are wonderful examples of
> >> engineering and design but they have a great need for money to get them
> >> into fighting shape. If I lived next to you, I'd be happy to help you
> >> work on them. Of course, owning one of those would be another thing!
> >> I've learned my lesson... :-)
>
> > come on down. *I hate working on cars, hard as that may be to
> > believe. *I just like driving nice cars.
>
> > Only real headache cars that I've owned, believe it or not, were an
> > '86 BMW 535i with about 200K miles (I could have sorted it, but I
> > couldn't afford to) and a '89 GTI 16V (I think it was an '89? *might
> > have been an '88?) that had sat unused for about 10 years. *That one
> > did eventually get sorted and was sold to a friend who drove it for
> > several years before passing it on. *The Corrado, although not
> > technically mine, is also a bit of a PITA but I think part of that is
> > that no mechanic wants to touch it. *The 944 and all my other VWs have
> > been surprisingly trouble free, although I have had some persistent
> > problems with my 944 that I've had to resolve myself simply because
> > again I don't think mechanics like working on cars that old and don't
> > really take them seriously.
>
> Sounds like you need to find a foreign car repair shop that has an old
> guy named "Fritz." :-) The 944 is a nice ride that one hardly ever sees
> anymore and I think will be a highly sought-after car in the near future.

Heh, I knew of one owned by a guy named Rainer Wetzling, but
unfortunately he passed on a while back. He also was a bit on the
particular side; he refused to work on my Scirocco because it had an
aftermarket suspension on it.

I agree that 944s are fun cars but I suspect that they'll end up
becoming the next 914 - loved by a few nutcases, but never getting any
real respect, and consistently available used for less than $5K and
therefore not worth restoring for anyone but the hard core.

nate

On 1/20/2010 12:03 PM, N8N wrote:
> On Jan 20, 4:19 pm, > wrote:
>> On 1/20/2010 10:49 AM, N8N wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>> On Jan 19, 9:42 pm, > wrote:
>>>> On 1/19/2010 4:11 PM, Nate Nagel wrote:
>>
>>>>> I've got two G-laders for this car, one supposedly "good used" and one
>>>>> rebuilt by BBM maybe 20K miles ago but passing more oil than I'd like.
>>>>> Kompressor Kanada or Bahn Brenner will rebuild 'em for you. Come on
>>>>> down, bring a trailer. I need the garage space for my '55 and need to
>>>>> convince the girl to either buy my 944 or find herself a car.
>>
>>>>> I can help make your dream a reality! Low low prices! (hell, if the
>>>>> title were in my name, it'd be yours for a case of decent beer just to
>>>>> get rid of the thing.)
>>
>>>> Ha ha. I know how you feel. Your cars are wonderful examples of
>>>> engineering and design but they have a great need for money to get them
>>>> into fighting shape. If I lived next to you, I'd be happy to help you
>>>> work on them. Of course, owning one of those would be another thing!
>>>> I've learned my lesson... :-)
>>
>>> come on down. I hate working on cars, hard as that may be to
>>> believe. I just like driving nice cars.
>>
>>> Only real headache cars that I've owned, believe it or not, were an
>>> '86 BMW 535i with about 200K miles (I could have sorted it, but I
>>> couldn't afford to) and a '89 GTI 16V (I think it was an '89? might
>>> have been an '88?) that had sat unused for about 10 years. That one
>>> did eventually get sorted and was sold to a friend who drove it for
>>> several years before passing it on. The Corrado, although not
>>> technically mine, is also a bit of a PITA but I think part of that is
>>> that no mechanic wants to touch it. The 944 and all my other VWs have
>>> been surprisingly trouble free, although I have had some persistent
>>> problems with my 944 that I've had to resolve myself simply because
>>> again I don't think mechanics like working on cars that old and don't
>>> really take them seriously.
>>
>> Sounds like you need to find a foreign car repair shop that has an old
>> guy named "Fritz." :-) The 944 is a nice ride that one hardly ever sees
>> anymore and I think will be a highly sought-after car in the near future.
>
> Heh, I knew of one owned by a guy named Rainer Wetzling, but
> unfortunately he passed on a while back. He also was a bit on the
> particular side; he refused to work on my Scirocco because it had an
> aftermarket suspension on it.

What is the deal with German auto mechanics! :-)

>
> I agree that 944s are fun cars but I suspect that they'll end up
> becoming the next 914 - loved by a few nutcases, but never getting any
> real respect, and consistently available used for less than $5K and
> therefore not worth restoring for anyone but the hard core.

You're probably in a better position to judge the future of the 944. My
brother had a very nice 914 that he fixed up. It was painted a shiny
orangy yellowish but he sold it. You are right about the nutcase aspect
of it though... :-)

>
> nate

There used to be a Chevrolet truck dealership near me that also sold and
serviced VWs and Mercedes Benz cars.Back then, I owned a 1970 VW van.One
time I was at that dealership, one of the guys there mostly worked on
Mercedes Benz.He was pushing a Mercedes Benz car across the shop floor,
his name was Otto.One of the other guys who worked there told him, Get
that Hitler looking car out of the way!
cuhulin