What did you do to your MKIV today?

PakProtector

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 5, 2014
Location
AnnArbor, MI
TDI
Mk.4's and the Cummins
Of all the silly things, you can buy used Hella on Aliexpress. For what they are selling for I have not much doubt as to their authenticity. They are distressed, and complete with distressed German labels...on top of reasonable likelihood of access to scrappers who'd salvage such things.

On the boosting, I'd be tempted to go MOSFET and rectifier diode hunting with an engineer skilled in the art. That way some of the heat generation( and drive requirement loading issues) can be headed off at the source. Just an example, a MOSFET is going to offer no heat gen benefit if the R_ds-ON resistance benefit is overshadowed by so much gate capacitance that it lives longer in the linear region. The usual improvement to such things is less gate capacitance to go along with less resistance in the ON state. Just have to pick the right one. Switching faster is always a benefit... :)

I don't quite have the skills to swap the diodes for an active MOSFET bridge, but that would help too. Less heat means longer life. Recall that these things are rated for 2k hours of life; any temperature benefit that can be realized will be all to the good there.
cheers,
Douglas
 

KrashDH

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Dec 22, 2013
Location
Washington
TDI
2002 Golf
Of all the silly things, you can buy used Hella on Aliexpress. For what they are selling for I have not much doubt as to their authenticity. They are distressed, and complete with distressed German labels...on top of reasonable likelihood of access to scrappers who'd salvage such things.

On the boosting, I'd be tempted to go MOSFET and rectifier diode hunting with an engineer skilled in the art. That way some of the heat generation( and drive requirement loading issues) can be headed off at the source. Just an example, a MOSFET is going to offer no heat gen benefit if the R_ds-ON resistance benefit is overshadowed by so much gate capacitance that it lives longer in the linear region. The usual improvement to such things is less gate capacitance to go along with less resistance in the ON state. Just have to pick the right one. Switching faster is always a benefit... :)

I don't quite have the skills to swap the diodes for an active MOSFET bridge, but that would help too. Less heat means longer life. Recall that these things are rated for 2k hours of life; any temperature benefit that can be realized will be all to the good there.
cheers,
Douglas
Yeah Ali-Ex...they can copy things really well...might be genuine, might not be. The internals will tell you all.

Part of the boosting is adding new MOSFET's and heat sink as well as a few other things.

One of the original documents is here. I know it says facebook, but it's basically a pdf. I don't even have facebook but can still view it:


Everything you need is listed in there.

There's been a few writeups that have stemmed from this for the "on demand" portion being able to switch between powers on the fly.

I'd be comfortable with the procedure if I practiced my soldering skills a bit more. The de-soldering technique as well. It doesn't look overly complicated to make it happen, just working with tiny electronic boards is not my forte.
 

RexNICO

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 17, 2013
Location
South West OH
TDI
2011 Tiguan, 2011 Q7
If someone wants to play with these Hella ballasts, I've got a few (pulled from Audi's for a project I never started/finished) and would be glad to send out some.

Just PM and let me know. Thanks

UPDATE: At this time, the last few are spoken for ... I think y'all reduced the box o'ballasts by 13 or 14. I'll get this garage cleaned out eventually :) .
 
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Mozambiquer

Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
Mar 21, 2015
Location
Versailles Missouri
TDI
2004 VW Touareg V10 TDI, 2012 Audi Q7 V6 TDI, 1998 VW Jetta TDI. 1982 VW Rabbit pickup, 2001 VW Jetta TDI, 2005 VW Passat wagon TDI X3, 2001 VW golf TDI, 1980 VW rabbit pickup,
I have not yet.

I have not yet. I have the kit, but have yet to change it. Can you suggest the best place for instructions to follow? I can't do that with juat my accumulated auto knowlwdge. Also, I have a friend with the timing tools for a PD, would those work on my ALH?
the PD timing tools are different than an ALH. I know there are places that rent them out.
ALH timing belt procedure
 

DeeJay

Member
Joined
Oct 3, 2020
Location
Michigan
TDI
2000 Jetta
the PD timing tools are different than an ALH. I know there are places that rent them out.
ALH timing belt procedure
Thanks for the PDF. I will have to research where I can rent/loan the tools. I had planned on doing it in a few months when the weather breaks. I know that it's impossible to fully tell how much time is left on a belt by looking at it, but with that being said, it looks like it is in great shape. Would definitely be kicking myself hard if it did let go though. Thanks for the responses.
 

PakProtector

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 5, 2014
Location
AnnArbor, MI
TDI
Mk.4's and the Cummins
Thanks for the PDF. I will have to research where I can rent/loan the tools. I had planned on doing it in a few months when the weather breaks. I know that it's impossible to fully tell how much time is left on a belt by looking at it, but with that being said, it looks like it is in great shape. Would definitely be kicking myself hard if it did let go though. Thanks for the responses.
Yes you would...on that you should have no doubt. Best o' luck finding the tools. I have it on good authority it is not impossible for first timers. Where in MI?
cheers,
Douglas
 

PakProtector

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 5, 2014
Location
AnnArbor, MI
TDI
Mk.4's and the Cummins
IIRC Krash, the boost involves heat sinking what I suspect is the boost converter better, and installing MOSFET's that have lower ON resistance so as to make less heat, and then finally for the actual boosting that will wreck the original silicon, a new current sense resistor for the inverter bridge. It has been a while since I read the instructions though...:)

Douglas
 

KrashDH

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Dec 22, 2013
Location
Washington
TDI
2002 Golf
IIRC Krash, the boost involves heat sinking what I suspect is the boost converter better, and installing MOSFET's that have lower ON resistance so as to make less heat, and then finally for the actual boosting that will wreck the original silicon, a new current sense resistor for the inverter bridge. It has been a while since I read the instructions though...:)

Douglas
That link I posted above takes you right to the write-up
 

pkhoury

That guy with the goats
Joined
Nov 30, 2010
Location
Medina, TX
TDI
2013 JSW, 2003 Jetta Ute, 2 x 2002 Golf, 2000 Golf
What did I do... replaced a failed MAF on my ALH. Holy crap to the power it has now! Adjusted timing this morning from retarded to advanced, but still within spec. Next mod I need to do is the hammer mod, though IQ is closer to where I'd like it.
 

03TDICommuter

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 8, 2016
Location
So. Cal
TDI
01' NB, 5spd
What did I do... replaced a failed MAF on my ALH. Holy crap to the power it has now! Adjusted timing this morning from retarded to advanced, but still within spec. Next mod I need to do is the hammer mod, though IQ is closer to where I'd like it.
Did it liven up when you ran it unplugged? Is that how you knew?
 

pkhoury

That guy with the goats
Joined
Nov 30, 2010
Location
Medina, TX
TDI
2013 JSW, 2003 Jetta Ute, 2 x 2002 Golf, 2000 Golf
Did it liven up when you ran it unplugged? Is that how you knew?
I unplugged the old one, and the car as lacking power, but acceleration was a lot smoother. What threw me off was that Malone/Owain insisted that he deleted the MAF from my tune file (which didn't make sense, because it was a canned tune), but I think he got that confused with my BEW's tune. Either way, it really woke up the car, and now I'm fiddling with settings to improve fuel economy.
 

Mozambiquer

Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
Mar 21, 2015
Location
Versailles Missouri
TDI
2004 VW Touareg V10 TDI, 2012 Audi Q7 V6 TDI, 1998 VW Jetta TDI. 1982 VW Rabbit pickup, 2001 VW Jetta TDI, 2005 VW Passat wagon TDI X3, 2001 VW golf TDI, 1980 VW rabbit pickup,
I gotta ask... Why the relocation?
Because the catch can goes where the vacuum ball used to be. I got the catch can that racerxtdi had in the classifieds, and that's the way he had it designed. I made a bracket for the vacuum ball that goes where the egr control valve used to be.
 

KrashDH

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Dec 22, 2013
Location
Washington
TDI
2002 Golf

Mozambiquer

Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
Mar 21, 2015
Location
Versailles Missouri
TDI
2004 VW Touareg V10 TDI, 2012 Audi Q7 V6 TDI, 1998 VW Jetta TDI. 1982 VW Rabbit pickup, 2001 VW Jetta TDI, 2005 VW Passat wagon TDI X3, 2001 VW golf TDI, 1980 VW rabbit pickup,
Looks good. Any reason in particular you chose to keep the puck on top of the valve cover? When I added my catch I just deleted it. That thing was a constant source of leaks for me. Didn't matter if they were old or new, I never had luck with them
The setup I got had the puck with it. I guess if I wanted to change that, I could put a simple elbow down into the cover...
 

Mozambiquer

Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
Mar 21, 2015
Location
Versailles Missouri
TDI
2004 VW Touareg V10 TDI, 2012 Audi Q7 V6 TDI, 1998 VW Jetta TDI. 1982 VW Rabbit pickup, 2001 VW Jetta TDI, 2005 VW Passat wagon TDI X3, 2001 VW golf TDI, 1980 VW rabbit pickup,
Love it! The vacuum ball’s stock location sucks. I will be investigating moving it on my car soon....
Yeah, I thought about mounting it to the air filter housing, but then I saw the rubber mounting bracket and thought that would be perfect.
 

IndigoBlueWagon

TDIClub Enthusiast, Principal IDParts, Vendor , w/
Joined
Aug 16, 2004
Location
South of Boston
TDI
'97 Passat, '99.5 Golf, '02 Jetta Wagon, '15 GSW
Wednesday, actually, had the coolant bottle replaced on IBW. Noticed last weekend when checking the oil that the level was very low and I hadn't gotten a warning light. Looked around and could see some coolant under the bottle. Didn't know if it was the bottle or the hose that runs from the bottom of the bottle. We found coolant in the electrical connector on the bottle, not a good sign. Glad I caught it before anything bad happened.


All better now. And yes, I know the engine compartment is grubby. It's an old car!
 

BobnOH

not-a-mechanic
Joined
May 29, 2004
Location
central Ohio
TDI
New Beetle 2003 manual
........................................We found coolant in the electrical connector on the bottle, not a good sign. Glad I caught it before anything bad happened.
.........................................................
Reminiscent of when I first joined the forum. Coolant Migration was all the rage. Nice catch! Some VW plastic seems to just disintegrate after xx years.
 

03TDICommuter

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 8, 2016
Location
So. Cal
TDI
01' NB, 5spd
Wednesday, actually, had the coolant bottle replaced on IBW. Noticed last weekend when checking the oil that the level was very low and I hadn't gotten a warning light. Looked around and could see some coolant under the bottle. Didn't know if it was the bottle or the hose that runs from the bottom of the bottle. We found coolant in the electrical connector on the bottle, not a good sign. Glad I caught it before anything bad happened.


All better now. And yes, I know the engine compartment is grubby. It's an old car!
So the bottle was the issue? (The connector is part of the bottle or transferred from the old one?)
 

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,gluten for punishment got another tdi 2001NB,another yellow tdi NB
Well in the bitter cold today my fuel filter froze , ironically i treated my fuel yesterday with a double dose of PS and had my frost heater plugged in all night. Trip to work at 4:30 am was uneventful.... car sat for about 4 hours , but I started if and let idle for about 10 minutes before I started driving it. I drove for about 20 miles and then started noticing a lack up power.

Car finally died and was able to get to side of road, popped hood and clear line was empty.....
I had a can of diesel purge , got car started and limped to an auto store and dumped a full can of 911 red PS , moved car around to mix fuel and PS and saw most of the air bubbles gone ( and no I don’t have an air leak ) .
i limped the car home with purchasing a new fuel filter. I checked clear line after I got home and had a solid fuel filled line with no air bubbles.

Just finished changing out fuel filter and test drove car , back in business.....this is the second time I’ve had this happen in 5 years.....not fun.
i may just replace my fuel filters now at the beginning of the winter season from now on.
 

IndigoBlueWagon

TDIClub Enthusiast, Principal IDParts, Vendor , w/
Joined
Aug 16, 2004
Location
South of Boston
TDI
'97 Passat, '99.5 Golf, '02 Jetta Wagon, '15 GSW
So the bottle was the issue? (The connector is part of the bottle or transferred from the old one?)
Apparently this is one way the bottles fail. Way back in early MKIV days this was a problem with the coolant bottles, and coolant could migrate up the harness and kill the cluster. That's been fixed, but bottles can still release coolant into the connector (which is part of the car) in some situations.
 

pkhoury

That guy with the goats
Joined
Nov 30, 2010
Location
Medina, TX
TDI
2013 JSW, 2003 Jetta Ute, 2 x 2002 Golf, 2000 Golf
the PD timing tools are different than an ALH. I know there are places that rent them out.
ALH timing belt procedure
Some of it overlaps as well. When I bought my metalnerd tools, I just bought everything, since we have 4 generations of TDI here



As for what I did today - replaced a bad driver's side CV axle on the soon-to-be-Ute. Yesterday, I replaced fender liners in the front on the 2003 Golf. Tomorrow, I'm hoping to get more ALH parts from the junkyard.
 

03TDICommuter

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 8, 2016
Location
So. Cal
TDI
01' NB, 5spd
Malone Stage 1 on my Beetle. Really livened it up. Much better cruising at the freeway speeds here. I'd say it's now as strong as my Jetta was. Still need to run logs to see why it was low on power before, but now it's liveable.
 

runningallday

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 22, 2017
Location
Iowa City, IA
TDI
1999.5 Jetta TDI manual
As for what I did today - replaced a bad driver's side CV axle on the soon-to-be-Ute. Yesterday, I replaced fender liners in the front on the 2003 Golf. Tomorrow, I'm hoping to get more ALH parts from the junkyard.
how did you know your cv axle was bad?
 
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