fauntsu@hplabsd.UUCP ( root) (11/08/85)
>I have an 1983 Audi 4000 that does not charge the battery properly >when first started. However, once I rev the engine sufficiently, >the charging jumps up to 14 volts (as shown on my voltmeter) and >everything is fine until the next time I start the car. I once encountered an alternator with a broken wire in the rotor. The broken wire passed through the steel rotor segment on the way to the slip rings. It failed just inside a crimp/solder joint due to metal fatigue, and would charge ONLY at >75 MPH; when centrifugal (sp?) force + expansion due to temperature made a connection. The symptoms sound somewhat alike. Try changing your alternator rotor or removing it while hot and monitoring field resistance. Maybe you should put it in a freezer. Any significant increase in resistance while cooling is grounds (open???) for rejection. Lots of luck. >From the artificial intelligence of hpscda!garyg Gary Gitzen Hewlett-Packard 5301 Stevens Creek Blvd. Santa Clara, CA 95051 408-246-4300 ext 2507 / ******* / ihuxo!drk / ******* /