2002 Golf - I'm back in a TDI!

spifflifkin

Veteran Member
Joined
May 11, 2003
Location
WA
TDI
2002 Golf
Check and make sure you don't have constant 12v power to the L pin on the alternator plug
I checked the L & DFM pin on the harness and the plug on the alternator. There was no voltage on any of them.

I hooked up the alternator that came with the donor engine and there was a 10mA draw. I must have hurt my Fluke because it won't measure current any more. So, I used a cheapie backup.

Then I hooked up the Napa alternator to verify the current draw with the cheapie multimeter. It was around .35A draw.


Nice , at least you’re heading in the right direction.
If it is a bad alt I highly recommend one from Moz…. He does an excellent job on rebuilding them.
I pulled out the alternator and will see if Napa will let me return it tomorrow. I read their warranty info online and it says the will cover repair or replacement. This is the one I bought. https://www.napaonline.com/en/search?text=NRO 1N9553&referer=v2 I though it'd be reliable because it was new.
If they take it back I'll buy one from @Mozambiquer
 
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spifflifkin

Veteran Member
Joined
May 11, 2003
Location
WA
TDI
2002 Golf
The head unit drawing 30mA is not ideal, but it would take a few days to kill a fully charged battery.
A previous owner that installed the head unit I replaced wired the power to a switched fuse. I wonder if they did that to minimize current draw.
I talked to Crutchfield today and they told me that extra device that's plugged into the harness is power for the memory. Not sure I buy that, but whatever...
Once the alternator is replaced I'll mess with the head unit.
 

spifflifkin

Veteran Member
Joined
May 11, 2003
Location
WA
TDI
2002 Golf
I took the alternator back to Napa this morning. They wouldn't budge on a refund. Replacement only. Their tester machine didn't work either. I'll plug it in to test it before installing it tonight.
 

J_dude

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 9, 2020
Location
SK Canada
TDI
2003 1.9l “Jedi”
They wouldn't budge on a refund. Replacement only.
I find that rather absurd, they're out the money either way so why would it matter whether they give you the money or another alternator?! Just ridiculous.
I do wonder if talking to someone a little higher up in the ranks would have net different results though. Parts-counter people that actually use their brain are very rare these days.
Anyway, rant over. Lol
 
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spifflifkin

Veteran Member
Joined
May 11, 2003
Location
WA
TDI
2002 Golf
I find that rather absurd, they're out the money either way so why wouldn't it matter whether they give you the money or another alternator?! Just ridiculous.
Totally agree. I told them that I wasn't comfortable with another one because the first one failed so quickly. And, because they couldn't test the new one to verify it was good.
 

csstevej

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 12, 2004
Location
north nj
TDI
2001 golf tdi 4 door auto now a manual, mine, 2000 golf 2 door M/T son's,daughters 98 NB non-TDI 2.0, 2003 TDI NB for next daughter, head repaired and on road,glutton for punishment got another tdi 2001NB,another yellow tdi NB , added an 06 NB DSG
You could try another Nappa if there’s another one around.
Here they are around 30 miles apart.
 

spifflifkin

Veteran Member
Joined
May 11, 2003
Location
WA
TDI
2002 Golf
I ended up keeping the Napa alternator. I have too much going on right now so I needed to get it done.
Good news! Without the head unit hooked up there is a 10mA draw now!
I got hired to trailer some stuff tomorrow and for a construction job on Sunday so I'll be driving the truck this weekend. The VW will sit untouched until Monday morning. I'll check the voltage before going to work. It's 12.6V now.
 

wonneber

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 12, 2011
Location
Monroe, NY, USA
TDI
2014 Jetta Sportwagon,2003 Jetta 261K Sold but not forgotten
Maybe I missed it but did you try unplugging all the plugs on the alternator and the heavy power one going to the battery?
That could rule out if it bad even though its new.
 

wonneber

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 12, 2011
Location
Monroe, NY, USA
TDI
2014 Jetta Sportwagon,2003 Jetta 261K Sold but not forgotten
I checked the L & DFM pin on the harness and the plug on the alternator. There was no voltage on any of them.

I hooked up the alternator that came with the donor engine and there was a 10mA draw. I must have hurt my Fluke because it won't measure current any more. So, I used a cheapie backup.

Then I hooked up the Napa alternator to verify the current draw with the cheapie multimeter. It was around .35A draw.




I pulled out the alternator and will see if Napa will let me return it tomorrow. I read their warranty info online and it says the will cover repair or replacement. This is the one I bought. https://www.napaonline.com/en/search?text=NRO 1N9553&referer=v2 I though it'd be reliable because it was new.
If they take it back I'll buy one from @Mozambiquer
I think the Fluke has a fuse inside it to protect itself from to high amperage readings.
At least I think mine does.
 

csstevej

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 12, 2004
Location
north nj
TDI
2001 golf tdi 4 door auto now a manual, mine, 2000 golf 2 door M/T son's,daughters 98 NB non-TDI 2.0, 2003 TDI NB for next daughter, head repaired and on road,glutton for punishment got another tdi 2001NB,another yellow tdi NB , added an 06 NB DSG
Yes it does.
 

spifflifkin

Veteran Member
Joined
May 11, 2003
Location
WA
TDI
2002 Golf
Maybe I missed it but did you try unplugging all the plugs on the alternator and the heavy power one going to the battery?
That could rule out if it bad even though its new.
Yep. I tried that too. I think one of the videos I posted showed that.
Thanks for the tip!
 

spifflifkin

Veteran Member
Joined
May 11, 2003
Location
WA
TDI
2002 Golf
I got a break yesterday and was able to go to a pick-n-pull in Arlington, WA.
I scored some do dads I've been looking for. There were 2 ALH TDI's there. All that remained of one was the block sitting on the ground and a disassembled transmission. The other one was pretty ravaged too.

Most of my haul


Found this too! It's missing one of the pivot pins though.


Missing pivot pin.


Old busted fuel tank shield.


Salvaged fuel tank shield installed.


On the battery drain issue it looks like the problem is solved as far as the alternator goes.
4/5 12.60V After driving it for about half an hour
4/7 12.49V After sitting since the last voltage test.

I might try to work on the head unit wiring tonight depending on when I get off work.
 
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J_dude

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 9, 2020
Location
SK Canada
TDI
2003 1.9l “Jedi”
I got a break yesterday and was able to go to a pick-n-pull in Arlington, WA.
I scored some do dads I've been looking for. There were 2 ALH TDI's there. All that remained of one was the block sitting on the ground and a disassembled transmission. The other one was pretty ravened too.

Most of my haul


Found this too! It's missing one of the pivot pins though.


Missing pivot pin.


Old busted fuel tank shield.


Salvaged fuel tank shield installed.


On the battery drain issue it looks like the problem is solved as far as the alternator goes.
4/5 12.60V After driving it for about half an hour
4/7 12.49V After sitting since the last voltage test.

I might try to work on the head unit wiring tonight depending on when I get off work.
Nice finds, reminds me I need to add a seat track trim piece to my junkyard list too, I have one broken one.
Are those fuel tank shields a Golf thing or do the Jettas have them too? I've never seen one before.

Also when I find TDI's at the junkyards I like to grab any grey 109 relays I find. 😉
 

spifflifkin

Veteran Member
Joined
May 11, 2003
Location
WA
TDI
2002 Golf
I had some time to work on the head unit wiring tonight. I removed that device that Crutchfield installed in the harness. It was drawing 30 milliamps.

Before:


After:


Radio presets I remembered and appears at the amp is turning off. Not quite sure what that device did other than possibly getting switched power from constant power. I did have to run a wire to the fuse panel for switched power.

There is a ~10mA current draw with the car asleep.
 
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J_dude

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 9, 2020
Location
SK Canada
TDI
2003 1.9l “Jedi”
I did have to run a wire to the fuse panel for switched power.
The "x75" stud on the bus bar above the clutch pedal is also a good source for switched 12v.
And the one next to it labelled "30" is a good source for constant power, if you ever need it.
 

spifflifkin

Veteran Member
Joined
May 11, 2003
Location
WA
TDI
2002 Golf
The "x75" stud on the bus bar above the clutch pedal is also a good source for switched 12v.
And the one next to it labelled "30" is a good source for constant power, if you ever need it.
Awesome. Thanks for the info!
 

csstevej

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 12, 2004
Location
north nj
TDI
2001 golf tdi 4 door auto now a manual, mine, 2000 golf 2 door M/T son's,daughters 98 NB non-TDI 2.0, 2003 TDI NB for next daughter, head repaired and on road,glutton for punishment got another tdi 2001NB,another yellow tdi NB , added an 06 NB DSG

spifflifkin

Veteran Member
Joined
May 11, 2003
Location
WA
TDI
2002 Golf
When I changed the alternator I took a look around to check things out. I noticed a drop of oil on the bottom of the turbo. There's some on the axle too. This is a brand new turbo with <1000 miles on it. There's no oil on the metal skid plate.
I've been keeping an eye on the oil level but I'll keep a closer eye on that in the future.

 

csstevej

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 12, 2004
Location
north nj
TDI
2001 golf tdi 4 door auto now a manual, mine, 2000 golf 2 door M/T son's,daughters 98 NB non-TDI 2.0, 2003 TDI NB for next daughter, head repaired and on road,glutton for punishment got another tdi 2001NB,another yellow tdi NB , added an 06 NB DSG
Probably coming from the valve cover or the vent holes on the EGR valve. I have the same issue.
Next time I have the egr valve off I’m sealing those holes up…..I have the egr delete……just keeping it for the ASV function.
 

spifflifkin

Veteran Member
Joined
May 11, 2003
Location
WA
TDI
2002 Golf
Probably coming from the valve cover or the vent holes on the EGR valve. I have the same issue.
Next time I have the egr valve off I’m sealing those holes up…..I have the egr delete……just keeping it for the ASV function.
Gotcha. I just replaced the new valve cover I bought with another new one trying to stop a valve cover leak. Maybe it's still coming from that.
I'll poke around tonight to see if I can see where it's coming from paying attention to the valve cover and EGR valve then report back.
Thank you!

EDIT: I wasn't able to get to it tonight.
 
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spifflifkin

Veteran Member
Joined
May 11, 2003
Location
WA
TDI
2002 Golf
Tonight I changed the fuel sender and the sender seal. I wanted to know how much fuel would fit after the ventectomy so I siphoned out all the fuel then added a gallon at a time.
I got a little over 15.75 gallons in. I poured very slowly. I'm a little disappointed because I read that people got anywhere from 16-17 gallons. But, it's better than 14.5.
 

J_dude

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 9, 2020
Location
SK Canada
TDI
2003 1.9l “Jedi”
Tonight I changed the fuel sender and the sender seal. I wanted to know how much fuel would fit after the ventectomy so I siphoned out all the fuel then added a gallon at a time.
I got a little over 15.75 gallons in. I poured very slowly. I'm a little disappointed because I read that people got anywhere from 16-17 gallons. But, it's better than 14.5.
Did you shake the car a bit to get the air out? And fill all the way up to the cap?
 

spifflifkin

Veteran Member
Joined
May 11, 2003
Location
WA
TDI
2002 Golf
Did you shake the car a bit to get the air out? And fill all the way up to the cap?
I did shake it. This morning I was able to put another quarter gallon in. When I shake the car I can hear sloshing so I assume there's still some air still in the tank.
 

spifflifkin

Veteran Member
Joined
May 11, 2003
Location
WA
TDI
2002 Golf
I forgot that the car came with some winter tires. They are Nokia Hakkapeliitta R2. Since I sold my Jetta in 2008 all I've driven are trucks with all season tires. I've never used winter tires. I might try them out when it starts raining this fall.

Tonight I cleaned them up a bit and pumped them all up to 32 psi. One has a leaky valve stem. In a few weeks (or whenever I remember) I'll check the pressure again. In the mean time they'll be stored on a pallet rack at work.

 

spifflifkin

Veteran Member
Joined
May 11, 2003
Location
WA
TDI
2002 Golf
@Zak99b5 might want to think about different ones. The first time I pulled these off to put on my new tires, the tabs on three of them were broken.

 
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