Itinerant Air-Cooled

Okay...light flickered a bit so I changed the easy brush last spring. Light stayed solid so I recently replaced the bottom brush. Now, the light stays on after starting until I goose the throttle a bit ... then stays off for the duration of my trip ... never had to do this before. Is all well or is it a sign of pending doom? Thanks.

What about cleaning the commutator with a bit of fine sandpaper? Be careful!
Could also be a voltage regulator wearing out. A cheap fix anyway.

hambone wrote:What about cleaning the commutator with a bit of fine sandpaper? Be careful!
Could also be a voltage regulator wearing out. A cheap fix anyway.

WTF is a commutator?

The rotating part the brushes ride on.

Hippie wrote:The rotating part the brushes ride on.

Would this require removing the generator or just reach in thru the slots?

Hiya Mark,

In order to get the comutator polished up you are looking at removing the generator in order to do a proper job.

Bookwus wrote:Hiya Mark,

In order to get the comutator polished up you are looking at removing the generator in order to do a proper job.

Sounds like a suitable tech clinic project for the RendezVW

Okay. Today the light just stays on. Dims a bit when I hit the throttle, and I've noticed my wipers seem sloooowwwwwer than they used to be. Does this help narrow down the culprit? Voltage reg "sounds" like an easier fix ...... if'n that's it. Thanks guys. Mark

Bookwus wrote:Hiya Mark,

In order to get the comutator polished up you are looking at removing the generator in order to do a proper job.

Keep in mind that this is for a proper job. You can clean the com a bit with a nail file and some patience through the brush slot. Sand, sand, rotate gen, sand sand, rotate, repeat. It won't be nearly as good but at least if it improves your condition you may have found the culprit.

sped372 wrote:

Bookwus wrote:Hiya Mark,

In order to get the comutator polished up you are looking at removing the generator in order to do a proper job.

Keep in mind that this is for a proper job. You can clean the com a bit with a nail file and some patience through the brush slot. Sand, sand, rotate gen, sand sand, rotate, repeat. It won't be nearly as good but at least if it improves your condition you may have found the culprit.

Good suggestion! Unless someone chimes in soon with "from what you've described...sounds like your voltage regulator is toast" I'll give that a try. Thanks Sped.....roadtrip to Maupin this June for the RendezVW....we'd love to meet more of our midwesterners! Mark

deschutestrout wrote:

sped372 wrote:

Bookwus wrote:Hiya Mark,

In order to get the comutator polished up you are looking at removing the generator in order to do a proper job.

Keep in mind that this is for a proper job. You can clean the com a bit with a nail file and some patience through the brush slot. Sand, sand, rotate gen, sand sand, rotate, repeat. It won't be nearly as good but at least if it improves your condition you may have found the culprit.

Good suggestion! Unless someone chimes in soon with "from what you've described...sounds like your voltage regulator is toast" I'll give that a try. Thanks Sped.....roadtrip to Maupin this June for the RendezVW....we'd love to meet more of our midwesterners! Mark

Do not sand sand sand rotate sand sand sand. The merest out-of-round will cause the brushes to saw themselves to death in their holders. Imagine being a graphite-soft brush that moves out and back in inside the holder twice per revolution by .002" because of a flat spot caused by sanding. Really, the safest way to cleanly sand is with a running engine and no brushes installed. First you under-cut the commutator strips with an awl, then sand, the clean clean clean all grit and copper dust and graphite dust out of the area, then you re-install brushes.

If you are just doing a diagnosis a quick hit with the nail BOARD (not file-no-short-circuits) (on the right side of the slot so if it lets go it sucks downward) at idle followed by a light push of the brush into the commutator while a witness-of-the-idiot-light tells you if the light tries to go out.

Old bugs and buses will have glowing idiot lamps as system resistances go up. If you see a bright idiot light at initial key turn, and it really and truly goes out and leaves you with an obviously far dimmer glow, everybody is doing their job. You then try to optimize such things as grounds and spade connectors, and battery terminals and cables at both ends.
Colin

So.....is the the expert concensus that my trouble is NOT voltage regulator? Or....is it still a possible suspect? I'm hestitant to mess too much with the comunicickinator or whatever its called given the potential it seems of messing things up more. Or...Colin....RendezVW project? Will my battery eventually die if I keep driving as is? Cause more problems? Sorry to sound like a wuss...just looking for an easy way out. And yeah, I am a wuss Bookey.

Nice to know there's another wuss around here besides me!

Hey! I wish I could be there for a generator workshop. Y'all have a great time (like you NEED me telling you that!)

Throw in a new regulator. It's a cheap easy fix. It's good to have a spare anyway.

hambone wrote:Throw in a new regulator. It's a cheap easy fix. It's good to have a spare anyway.

So I just throw it? Jeez, that's easier than I thought! Those Germans are great! =D> Yeah, may just give that a try first....I'm slammed with other stuff right now and any time on VW needs to be spent figuring out what's up with Gus's rear end...need that bus to be tip-top for my extensive summer usage .... that bus holds a LOT of supplies for the biz. And, he doesn't seem upset that I long ago removed the coveted middle seat .....no...it's not for sale. And sorry Vdubtech for mentioning a bus in a type I forum...I'll try not to do it again