I have a 1997 Jetta GT 2.slow as my daily driver. And Friday evening it ceased to proceed as it were. And there I was. 300k plus on the car and it broke down. The sheer audacity of the car. The car did try to warn me of impending doom. The radio was re-booting by itself and the 2 LCD displays in the cluster were really dim. And the turn signals were blinking slow. I guessed the charging system wasn't charging.
And here I was minutes later.
I pulled the tow hook out of the trunk and screwed it in place while waiting for the truck.
I was told the wait would be 70 to 100 minutes. Ok, I will stay here. About 70 minutes later the truck arrives.
And it wasn't a roll back, it was a regular wheel list tow truck! No pictures, we all know what VWs look like on the hook.
It is now about 8pm and my Jetta has been delivered to my driveway and I get it rolled into place for work. I do the minimum. I put the battery on charge. It's late, I am hungry and without testing then parts I can't do anything anyway. And you should always start testing with a fully charged battery. While I sleep, the battery charges.
Saturday morning (5/18/2024) I head off to work driving something else out of the fleet. A two tone beige Camry. I feel I am invisible to the authorities. The road is mine to do as I will. And I do! I drive 15 mph over the speed limit like everyone else. I arrive at work and immediately attend to the important tasks of my day. That's right, I shopped for an alternator for my car. You see, I was feeling a bit smug with my assessment of what was needed for the Jetta, and I had the fading lights and loss of electrical power resulting in a dead battery to back me up. This is despite the $700 mistake I made on my Wife's Honda just weeks earlier.
And NAPA comes to the rescue! The alternator is ordered and I have it before 9am! But now I have to wait until after work to work on the car. And it rains. And it rains some more. Yep, I am a sissy, I might shrink in the rain. Sunday promises good weather and I can wait until then. Sunday comes and the morning is a bit gloomy, but promises to be better in the afternoon.
It is now Sunday midday. Time for this slacker to get to work. First is the testing part. I fire up the Jetta and hood a voltmeter to the battery. And I get battery voltage on the display. I rev the engine up a bit and get no change in voltage. Next I get out my alternator re-set tool (hammer) and give the alternator a tap. Nothing changes. Second tap, nothing changes. Tap number three and Houston, we have charging voltage! Now on to the replacement.
This is straightforward, the alternator is mounted up top and is very easy to get to. Two bolts, one electrical clip, one charging wire and a harness clamp.
More to follow...
