Electrical Issue on Sport TDI 130! Advice pls :)

[alex2020mk]

Hi,

I am experiencing some electrical issues this past week.

Situation: Upon start-up the car runs at aprox 10 volts on the gauge. As soon as i rev it up it jumps to ~14 volts. Once its there its stays there.

Symptoms: Twice i had my power steering not working but it kicked in as soon as i rev'd the engine up. Once i had all the lights flashing on the dash (literally) with the volt meter showed below 9 volts...solved it by reving.

Service: The shop checked the battery but showed no signs of problems (even though it is 4 y/o now)

I am confused and i think the people at the service are as well more than I.

Please help and share your thoughts. Greatly appreciate it.

Alex

 

[Guinness]

well normally I would say its the battery. But as u say its been checked have u got vag com? or know anyone with vag would make identifying the problem a lot easier

 

[alex2020mk]

well normally I would say its the battery. But as u say its been checked have u got vag com? or know anyone with vag would make identifying the problem a lot easier

it was actually checked at the Seat service on their machine. No faults were reported when inspected which made the whole thing more confusing. May seek out someone with a VAGCOM if you think that it may provide better diagnostics.

Thanks!

 

[muddyboots]

One of my previous cars did this, you'd start it and the battery voltage would remain low - wipers would struggle, headlamps dimmer, etc.

Then once it was revved slightly past a certain point, the alternator would kick in and it would jump to the normal 14-odd volts. The wipers would speed up, headlamps would brighten, fan speed would increase, etc.

I don't fully understand how they work, but think it's something to do with the alternator, or the voltage regulator (which is built into the alternator but is replaceable - I know because I changed the one on my Ibiza TDI because of another fault...)

 

[air121005]

as said before, sounds like an alternator issue imo!

 

[alex2020mk]

off to the service...

One of my previous cars did this, you'd start it and the battery voltage would remain low - wipers would struggle, headlamps dimmer, etc.

Then once it was revved slightly past a certain point, the alternator would kick in and it would jump to the normal 14-odd volts. The wipers would speed up, headlamps would brighten, fan speed would increase, etc.

I don't fully understand how they work, but think it's something to do with the alternator, or the voltage regulator (which is built into the alternator but is replaceable - I know because I changed the one on my Ibiza TDI because of another fault...)

yes, i hear you, it is exactly the same thing i am experiencing. the alternator does kick in and the volt meter goes up. i remember you posting something like this a while ago. i also just read that the car shuts down non essential electrical systems such as the power steering when the car is struggling for electricity. i was worried that i had the yellow oil light come on once and the x-mas tree effect my dash displayed yesterday.

i am dropping of the car at the service tomorrow morning i am not 100% sure but i hope they perform good diagnostics....will mention the regulator, the alt itself and the belts...i will let you all know.

Thanks for your advice!!!

Alex

 

[EddyH]

Sounds like the common issue with the alternator wiring. Had this twice already on ours.

 

[alex2020mk]

Sounds like the common issue with the alternator wiring. Had this twice already on ours.

yes...might be alternator wiring. the thing i noticed was that the battery light does not come on when i start the car. don't know what that means.

thanks

 

[alex2020mk]

The car is at the Seat service. Should have an answer on the problem by the end of the day.

Fingers crossed...

 

[alex2020mk]

Update on service check

I had just picked up the Ibiza from the SEAT service and it seems like they had fixed the problem. The wiring from the alternator was changed completely with the connectors which prevented the flow of crucial information back.

Anyway, thanks everyone for your help. I am happy now.

Alex

 

[muddyboots]

I don't know if it's related to the same problem, but the alternator wiring on my Ibiza TDI 130 broke - at one of the connectors mounted on the front of the gearbox. I had different symptoms, but maybe you had a similar problem with a different wire breaking in the same loom/connector. Techie on here told me he'd seen some Fabia 130s with the same problem.

 

[EddyH]

I don't know if it's related to the same problem, but the alternator wiring on my Ibiza TDI 130 broke - at one of the connectors mounted on the front of the gearbox. I had different symptoms, but maybe you had a similar problem with a different wire breaking in the same loom/connector. Techie on here told me he'd seen some Fabia 130s with the same problem.

The symptoms on ours were the same as the OP and it was down to the wiring you mention albeit on the connector at the alternator end of the loom.

 

[Nath.]

If you can get to the alternator plug/socket, unplug it spray with wd40 and then plug in, pull out plug in a few times

it may be a dirty connection that is high resistance

 

[alex2020mk]

revisit the problem

i briefly touched the subject with the service people yesterday but I spoke to them today to get more info. the installation from the alternator to the gearbox was the problem but not all the wires. the link to the regulator was broken and also and also a wire which made the battery light at the key position one appear. in my case there was no battery light on startup so who they will know how to fix the problem next time this phantom issue comes up.

WE should get a commission on this every time those idiots fix a problem. I could not have done this without you guys. THANK YOU YOU ROCK

Alex

 

[muddyboots]

Well, for reference if anyone else has a similar problem and reads this in the future, here's the symptoms my broken wire caused:

Car would start, run fine, all warning lights out. Battery voltage fine.
Exactly 10 minutes after every startup, a warning light would come on, and the ESP/ABS was disabled (had ESP on my Ibiza). Battery voltage remained fine.

I changed the regulator, no improvement.
I was on the verge of replacing the alternator, but when I saw the cost, decided it was a last resort (by the way, most TDI alternators have a one way clutch on the pulley).

Then techie on here mentioned the broken wires he'd seen on some TDI Fabias which use the same engine & loom. I got underneath the car, pulled the undertray off, looked at the connector block at the front of the gearbox - hey presto, one broken wire. Soldered a link in to bypass the connector - problem solved.

The ESP module takes an signal from the alternator (something to do with alternator loading?), and disables after 10 minutes if the signal is not present. Bizarre.

 

[typezero]

muddyboots just looked and found broken wire you where spot on thanks a million for your help a nice lot off people on this forum cheers .

 

[jenk]

Old thread dragged up!!!

Any picture of said broken wire? I have some funky problems that sound very similar, powersteering inoperative on start-up, no battery light etc.

 

[Ibiza Dan]

Yep similar problems here also
I have looked at all the wiring and it looks in good condition but im going to remove all the conections, clean and re-install with some silicone dialetic grease (spelling ) to make sure all conections are good.

 

[cheshire cat]

couple of thoughts, batteries- how many people with problems get a propper load test? It needs the battery disconecting and should last approx ten seconds as opposed to sticking a voltmeter on. Unless the technology's moved on the no charge lamp glows because there is jooc passing tho' to the alternator, in some cases this "excites" (oo-err misses!) the fieldcoils, when the charging starts the voltage across the lamp equalises as it stops flowing the light goes out. A duff bulb can sometimes lead to a flat battery. I have now suffered with the steering fault problem for approx 4-5 winters, only winter, but am still on the original battery.

 

[Ibiza Dan]

Haha Cheshire Cat
I did have the battery tested and its A OK shame really because i wouldnt be bothered about buying a new battery if it would sort it