Car Broke down! :/ after full revs Any help /advice?

[steve briance]

All of the above. Sadly, I think you should write off the £200 spent and move on. Chasing people who don't understand what has gone on just seems like an impossible task when it comes to getting your money back, if their GENUINE understanding of the charging system is what they are telling you, they are never likely to agree the problem is their fault.

Satisfy yourself that they will lose any future business with you and anyone who asks you for recommendations for a garage.

When your car is running again, you will either forget about it all or, have more things to spend your time, effort and money on!

[ringbearer]

I recommend one more visit to the mechanic with a dump truck load of manure, kindly deposit it in an extremely inconvenient location and never go back. Don’t waste your time with uneducated liars and move on. Be grateful it was just an alternator job. You can skip the **** delivery too . Good luck

[tango123]

i would take the car to someone reputable who understands these cars, who would probably recommened fitting a stock alternator..... just my 2pence

[twoqu]

Another thread which supports thats a correctly sourced A4 alternator can be retro fitted with parts from the original alternator. That could get you out of trouble cheaply.
https://www.s2forum.com/forum/techni...rnator-problem

From what I can tell the alternator that was fitted only has the battery and lamp studs so is not a variant that needs connection to the ecu. In that case it would have the L/DFM terminal block. So I cannot understand what the alternator guy is saying now! Our ecu's do not have any direct connection with the alternator.

[piotr]

Hey guys could the ecu have caused this? I spoke to an alternator guy and he said that these cars with the audis the ecu regulates the alternator. So he couldnt test it without the ecu plaugged in etc .. as it is required to regulate it.

My current plan of action:
Get the alternator now surcharged and buy a new bosch alternator and have it made to fit the car or get original one for this car.

Send ecu off for repair and stress test.

Then once its all back the car should then work.. I will then send the whole car to an electrical specialist to test the whole car and that area to make sure it's not something else that is causing this and iron out any gremlins

ECU regulates the alternator ???I didn't realized that our old S2 have been fitted with smart charge system
So where is the battery monitoring system fitted then??I think the alternator guy is chatting **** unless I'm very wrong here .
Just as above -get the original unit fitted that is dedicated to this make and model and save yourself more problems .

[twoqu]

It's getting a bit confusing! The mechanic said it was tested yet the alternator guy said it wasn't? Draw your own conclusions, although its seems pretty clear that someone is not telling the truth.
Can you get the old original alternator back? At least you then won't have to pay the surchage for a good quality replacement that way. If it was exchanged at the same place perhaps the alternator guy is honest enough to understand the problem. Mention the fact that you have been told porkies by the mechanic!
Not sure why the alternator was being replaced in the first place but clearly the alternator fitted is not correct for the vehicle. What is the logic of trying to adapt another when correct replacements are available or the original is capable of being reconditioned.
Can only refer you to the comments already made. You need to educate yourself as to whether what you are being told is plausible or not.
It sounds to me the person with the most to lose is the person who worked on your car. Is the car currently with you? Time to get your hands dirty. An alternator replacement should be well within the skill set of an amateur enthuasist with some spanners unless you suffer from some issue like old age (thats for us who are older than our vehicles!).
You are going to have to get the ecu repaired so ensure that this process includes a report as to why the damage has occurred.

[Bowie69]

Cut your losses, fit a standard alt, and use a different garage.

[Chris5044]

Cobbler.

You have found someone else that knows nothing. The regulator is on the back of the standard alternator, unless they sold you one without a built in regulator.....????? Which would of course explain your problems, as it would over voltage very quickly indeed.

Much more modern vehicles do indeed use the ECU to regulate the voltage, but we are talking about 40 year old tech here.

Whatever you do, get a STANDARD alternator for your car, no need for anything else at all.

Hey thank you, but a standard bosch one? hopefully .. as they have left me stuck with an alternator that I cannot give back, as they have drilled it to make it fit my car.. which perhaps isnt right. They said they have tested the alternator at the place that they got it from and it works fine. So I have paid over £200 for parts and labour and have a problem with the car - likely cause the alternator.. they are saying its something with the car.. im still lost...here.. :/

Im basically losing money and feel that they might be taking the piss here.. but they dont know much about electrics...

What can be done?

[Bowie69]

Hey guys could the ecu have caused this? I spoke to an alternator guy and he said that these cars with the audis the ecu regulates the alternator. So he couldnt test it without the ecu plaugged in etc .. as it is required to regulate it.

Cobblers.

You have found someone else that knows nothing. The regulator is on the back of the standard alternator, unless they sold you one without a built in regulator.....????? Which would of course explain your problems, as it would over voltage very quickly indeed.

Much more modern vehicles do indeed use the ECU to regulate the voltage, but we are talking about 40 year old tech here.

Whatever you do, get a STANDARD alternator for your car, no need for anything else at all.

[Chris5044]

Hey guys could the ecu have caused this? I spoke to an alternator guy and he said that these cars with the audis the ecu regulates the alternator. So he couldnt test it without the ecu plaugged in etc .. as it is required to regulate it.

My current plan of action:
Get the alternator now surcharged and buy a new bosch alternator and have it made to fit the car or get original one for this car.

Send ecu off for repair and stress test.

Then once its all back the car should then work.. I will then send the whole car to an electrical specialist to test the whole car and that area to make sure it's not something else that is causing this and iron out any gremlins

[twoqu]

Sorry I misread. Although I am not sure what was retrofited to the alternator unless it was the original pulley!
Does seem possible to use alternative alternators. Perhaps thats what was done to yours.
https://www.s2forum.com/forum/techni...61#post2007061

[John.]

Is the pulley the same size as what was on the old alternator, if smaller then at high revs this could be the problem?

[twoqu]

Well what is the mechanics explanation for how the voltage overprotection circuit in the ecu was fried?
Not sure how long you had been driving the car since the new alternator was fitted. Did you see any indication on the gauge perhaps that it was overcharging.
Not aware of any fault with a battery that would cause overvoltage.
It's difficult when you are in the hands of someone else. In hindsight it would have been useful to have documented that fault code had it existed in the ecu. It clearly is not the correct alternator for the vehicle even if someone has got it to fit. You mentioned previously about someone messing around with it at the back which I can only assume was with the wiring. Perhaps this is an issue. Certaintly something to research.

[Chris5044]

Ok so news just in .... the mechanic sent the alternator off for testing and it passed for 1.5 hours... and under load ... should I believe this guy or not?

Could this issue be something else with my car?

I'm thinking about getting it tested independantly

[LSG]

He could have said what he said hoping you'd go away none the wiser and your problem will be nothing to do with him Honest Mr Chris