alternator output 13.6v good or bad

mittzlepick

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union maine
TDI
2004 jetta wagon (365k)2001 wagon tire burner 6spd 2003 wagon(417k)
replaced a dead battery this morning. tested voltage with car running 13.6 v. is this the new normal with a newer vw? it is more than the battery voltage but i am leary of calling it good. what little info out there says it may incorperate some level of smartcharging. and im not sure if it has wizbang coding for the battery yet as it is on its way down the road taking a gamble its ok.
 

thundershorts

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I always ask whether one is using a professional grade meter. If so, you should normally see 13.8-14.2 charging a conventional lead acid auto battery, Try putting a load on it, a/c , lights, demister and see if voltage changes downward or it maintains.
 

mittzlepick

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2004 jetta wagon (365k)2001 wagon tire burner 6spd 2003 wagon(417k)
pro grade yes. loads were off. turning on ac didnt seem to make it jump which concerned me along with that im used to mk4 era with straight output around 14.2 or more.
 
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oilhammer

Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
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outside St Louis, MO
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There are just too many to list....
This is the page for battery replacement steps:

http://wiki.ross-tech.com/wiki/index.php/Battery_Replacement

I ran into an issue on an A7 Golf where neither method was working with VCDS, but I was able to use a different scan tool (Autel Maxisys) to at least access and change the battery number, so it recognized it as a replacement, and adjusted the charging accordingly.
 

r90sKirk

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All TDI's - No gassers! Luxo-Tourer = 13 Passat (hands down, the nicest car we've ever owned), Most fun = MK4 Golf
FWIW,

I've already seen two of these 15 GSW's with somewhere between 100-120k have an alternator pulley take a crap, and have to be replaced.

Seems unusually low miles to have this happen compared to earlier MY TDI's with same type of clutched pulley.

Kirk
 

oilhammer

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outside St Louis, MO
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There are just too many to list....
FWIW,

I've already seen two of these 15 GSW's with somewhere between 100-120k have an alternator pulley take a crap, and have to be replaced.

Seems unusually low miles to have this happen compared to earlier MY TDI's with same type of clutched pulley.

Kirk

I have not [yet] seen that, but have you noticed who/where those failed pulleys come from? Because we've seen a rash of bad ones on Hyundai/Kia products, and these are on Valeo (French) alternators made in Mexico to be bolted to engines in cars assembled here, but the pulley, which is made by INA, same as VAG and MB and others, is made in China... and it seems that badge of honor always means shorter service life. Curious if the INA pulleys on VAG Bosch and Valeo and Hitachi alternators are now also coming from China.
 

adjat84th

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Virginia Beach, VA
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'01 Jetta TDI/'15 Golf TDI
This is the page for battery replacement steps:
http://wiki.ross-tech.com/wiki/index.php/Battery_Replacement
I ran into an issue on an A7 Golf where neither method was working with VCDS, but I was able to use a different scan tool (Autel Maxisys) to at least access and change the battery number, so it recognized it as a replacement, and adjusted the charging accordingly.
I had trouble finding the right place as well, but eventually got it in the CAN-Gateway module and put "battery" in the search field of the adaptations box. Just changed the manufacturer and serial number, but haven't checked voltage with the car on.
 

turbobrick240

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maine
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2011 vw golf tdi(gone to greener pastures), 2001 ford f250 powerstroke
That's about the voltage you’d want to charge an AGM battery at. Maybe that's the voltage it defaults to if you don't code in the replacement battery.
 

JELLOWSUBMARINE

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That's about the voltage you’d want to charge an AGM battery at. Maybe that's the voltage it defaults to if you don't code in the replacement battery.
I noticed a lower running voltage on my mk6 at battery change. What can or will this do or damage. Is a trip to the dealer VCDS a must do?
 

oilhammer

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outside St Louis, MO
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There are just too many to list....
On any car that employs some form of dynamic charging and "learned" battery condition, failure to reset this can result in both shortened battery life on the replacement unit as well as shortened alternator life.

Given the fact that some of these cars have alternators that cost over $1000 (not kidding... and that is just the price of the part!) I'd say it is wise to at least make sure you are doing everything properly.

I had an Audi A4 in here yesterday that some hacks not only put the wrong battery in it (put in a 70Ah unit when they removed a 110Ah unit), they didn't bother to reset anything. The result was the "new" battery was unable to hold a charge after 7 months AND about a half dozen modules had low voltage DTCs and/or DTCs that could have been linked to low system voltage as well as some strange door lock behavior as well as some strange transmission shift mapping. New OEM battery installed, battery regulation reset, DTCs cleared, and everything is working perfectly. The owner had no idea, and truthfully they shouldn't need to. The shop should have known better. This is why so many of these VAG products have such lousy consumer opinions, because of nonsense like this. Problem is, as everyone in the car industry knows, the stuff the Germans do spills down to everyone else as the years progress. Which is why the industry as a whole is really troubled. Because EVERYTHING nowadays has some complex management and control systems, and there are a bunch of my peers sadly stuck in the carburetor days. :rolleyes:
 

JELLOWSUBMARINE

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Thank you OH

to the dealer I must go... No VCDS knowledgeable shops anywhere around unfortunately
 

bigb

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2015 Sportwagon S
I actually did take my 15 GSW to the dealer for a battery thinking they would need to code it. They did nothing but swap the battery out and said it didn't need any coding. When I got home I used OBDeleven and changed the serial number 1 digit to reflect a new battery but I am told by people on this forum in a very recent thread that the GSW TDI does not have any intelligent charging abilities and coding is not necessary, at least on the S trim model. The OP doesn't say what car he is referring to but I assume it is a MK7 VW TDI.
 
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mittzlepick

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2004 jetta wagon (365k)2001 wagon tire burner 6spd 2003 wagon(417k)
It's a base model 2015 gsw. Sold to a friend. 16 in wheels keyless with pushbutton start no leak hole in roof 5 sp.
 

JELLOWSUBMARINE

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On any car that employs some form of dynamic charging and "learned" battery condition, failure to reset this can result in both shortened battery life on the replacement unit as well as shortened alternator life.:
Thank you OH

to the dealer I must go... No VCDS knowledgeable shops anywhere around unfortunately
I called the service department today and they said the only issue they have is auto window reprogramming. WTH? I did have to resink my pano roof but had no other issues. Is this advisor not right (2011 jsw mk6)

EDIT
I looked up the past voltage which I bow feel ok about

 
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turbobrick240

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It's a base model 2015 gsw. Sold to a friend. 16 in wheels keyless with pushbutton start no leak hole in roof 5 sp.
Should be a six speed. I think I ran into you getting fuel at maritime farms a couple years ago. We raced each other to get the open diesel pump, lol.
 

mittzlepick

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union maine
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2004 jetta wagon (365k)2001 wagon tire burner 6spd 2003 wagon(417k)
Yes 6 sp. Forgot it was most of the time I owned it too.
 

turbobrick240

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2011 vw golf tdi(gone to greener pastures), 2001 ford f250 powerstroke
Polar FIS. I got mine from Kerma. It's really cool- shows just about every parameter you'd ever want to know.
 

JELLOWSUBMARINE

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Nuje

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2015 Sportwagen; Golf GLS 2002 (swap from 2L gas); 2016 A3 e-tron
I keep hoping that the guys who figured out the Navdy firmware and continued to support it (since Navdy went out of business) will dig into this; I'd love to get this kind of info on my Navdy. So far, we've got digital coolant temp...which is a start. :)

They've suggested in some of their reddit threads that any info available at the OBDII port should be displayable on the Navdy.
(Photo below if not familiar with the product.)

 

mittzlepick

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Mar 18, 2001
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union maine
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2004 jetta wagon (365k)2001 wagon tire burner 6spd 2003 wagon(417k)
Hold odometer reset to show battery status key on doors closed
 
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mittzlepick

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union maine
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2004 jetta wagon (365k)2001 wagon tire burner 6spd 2003 wagon(417k)
 

Nuje

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2015 Sportwagen; Golf GLS 2002 (swap from 2L gas); 2016 A3 e-tron
Like it says, though, only needed on cars that had "start-stop" (which the TDIs did not - at least not in North America).
To be clear, START/STOP is the thing where the engine totally shuts down anytime the car is at a stop. Take your foot off the brake when the traffic light turns green and the starter fires up the engine again.
 
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