nickm Posted October 20, 2006 Share Posted October 20, 2006 Anyone know why my rev counter flicks between 500 to 3k revs would it be the actual counter or the alternator (if thats where the feed comes from) 1997 300 tdi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivan Posted October 20, 2006 Share Posted October 20, 2006 Most likely a duff connection on the alternator. Mine was doing this for a couple of days before finally giving in. Clean the connection and maybe remake the connection on the end of the wire to the rev counter. Ivan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puddlejumper Posted October 20, 2006 Share Posted October 20, 2006 its a common problem with these and usually needs a new female lucar connector putting onto the wire feeding into the back of the alternator. Its the thin wire that causes the bother Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickm Posted October 20, 2006 Author Share Posted October 20, 2006 its a common problem with these and usually needs a new female lucar connector putting onto the wire feeding into the back of the alternator. Its the thin wire that causes the bother cheers will have a play over the weekend Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Posted October 21, 2006 Share Posted October 21, 2006 if its the same on 200/300s the white is white with a black trace. it is on my 200 anyway. ive found the wire goes brittle & i had to cut 6" off it & join a new bit in as it was breaking every 6-8weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiscoDunc Posted October 24, 2006 Share Posted October 24, 2006 if its the same on 200/300s the white is white with a black trace. it is on my 200 anyway. ive found the wire goes brittle & i had to cut 6" off it & join a new bit in as it was breaking every 6-8weeks. I have a funny feeling it's brown on the 300, but I'm far away from mine at the moment and can't check Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Posted October 24, 2006 Share Posted October 24, 2006 oh well, never owned one as 'new' as a 300. cant even remember the terminal letter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Budgie Posted October 24, 2006 Share Posted October 24, 2006 It's white with black trace on my 300 series. Well that's what I put the new connection onto and the rev counter worked afterwards anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discosi Posted October 24, 2006 Share Posted October 24, 2006 its a common problem with these and usually needs a new female lucar connector putting onto the wire feeding into the back of the alternator. Its the thin wire that causes the bother I have recently noticed that my rev counter has stopped working and also the battery warning light has come on the dash. Is the warning light coming on linked with a potential damaged wire/connection as noted in the forum or does it sound like there is another problem, such as defunked alternator. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Budgie Posted October 24, 2006 Share Posted October 24, 2006 Sounds more like your second guess, goosed alternator. The rev counter wire only feed the rev counter so if the warning light is on as well then I would get the alternator tested. Sorry for the bad news, but welcome to forum! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discosi Posted October 24, 2006 Share Posted October 24, 2006 Sounds more like your second guess, goosed alternator. The rev counter wire only feed the rev counter so if the warning light is on as well then I would get the alternator tested. Sorry for the bad news, but welcome to forum! cheers for that. I have checked the alternator and there does not appear to be much if any charge getting through. The other puzzling thing is that I first noticed the light on about 3 days ago and the disco still keeps starting and all electrics are working including lights etc. Thought the battery would have drained by now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco_Dunk Posted October 25, 2006 Share Posted October 25, 2006 The other puzzling thing is that I first noticed the light on about 3 days ago and the disco still keeps starting and all electrics are working including lights etc. Thought the battery would have drained by now. Hope you were at home when you said that - you KNOW it's gonna be dead now Dunk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Posted October 25, 2006 Share Posted October 25, 2006 you'll be amazed how far a tdi will go with no alternator. i drove mine about 100miles at night (so lights on) parked it up, started the next day & drove to the garage i got it from to say 'this damn car lasted TWO days, fix the sodding alternator boys'. remember once a proper (early non EDC) tdi is running you only need 9v & sod all amps to the cutoff solinoid to keep it going. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BogMonster Posted October 25, 2006 Share Posted October 25, 2006 plus heater fan, radio, lights, wipers.... They do usually last a few days though, if you have a decent battery and its summertime then anything up to a week is possible! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discosi Posted October 26, 2006 Share Posted October 26, 2006 plus heater fan, radio, lights, wipers....They do usually last a few days though, if you have a decent battery and its summertime then anything up to a week is possible! Suddenly had the alternator start again. Thinking it was dud washed it down well with hose prior to taking it back to garage for repair. Jumped started next day ready to take it in and the rev counter moved and the battery light went off. Still took it to garage who looked over it and said it was most probably dirt etc on the brushes. Not surprising after mud bath had it in on weekend. They suggested a wading kit and shroud for alternator. Anyone got any pointers to what is actually required?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Posted October 26, 2006 Share Posted October 26, 2006 if its the Lucas alt, you'll find the brush pack is a black box on the back of the alt. its held in with 3 5.5mm bolts. pull it out, disconnect the spade terminal & you'll see the brushes, i've often known them to get stuck due to mud. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve_a Posted October 28, 2006 Share Posted October 28, 2006 Had 2 alternator faults at the weekend of this type. On the Friday mine stopped working (no charge light) which I assumed was a dead diode pack. Couldn't get a replacement so out of interest I took it apart and had a quick peek. The brush pack was at fault, there are 2 brushes, one for the excitor current (via charge light) and one for battery charging. The excitor current one had gone so I needed to pull that out, which was why no charge light. On another motor the charge light came on. Since it was salisbury plain and he had bounced through a few puddles I thought it could well be dried muck on the brushes, so we rinsed it while running with water which fixed it. Both of these were defenders, where the alt is more exposed I am thinking about making some kind of protector for the alt, but on the defender 200tdi, even without the shroud, it is short on space around it, the disco should be fairly easy to cover a little bit though, and would probably be worth it, water/mud hitting the bonnet will drop down into the alt, a cover round the top would help to keep the worst off I guess Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G4FUJ Posted November 2, 2006 Share Posted November 2, 2006 Yep, But leave space for cooling air to circulate - diode packs don't last too loong when overly hot! Cheers, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeanB Posted July 19, 2008 Share Posted July 19, 2008 I have a funny feeling it's brown on the 300, but I'm far away from mine at the moment and can't check Hi, Where does the wire go to? i have no rev counter but have found a wire hanging at the back of the alternator ( a small grey coloured one with a spade conector ) cannot find where it could possibly go Thanks Dean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drkwack Posted July 20, 2008 Share Posted July 20, 2008 Hi to all, my 300 used to do most of these after a dirty weekend, so when I got the chance, - engine running put the hose pipe behind alternator and flush it out .WATCH your FINGERS, then used to spray WD40 through it never had any probs after this, best of luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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