Brake warning light...possibly

[jcairns]

Hi everyone,

Could anyone tell me what the (!) light on my dash is please?

The light flickers randomly - when it does it's frequency is the same as the engine revs.

Ive had the brake system looked over thoroughly in the past and everything checks out - and I keep my fluid level topped up nicely

Any thoughts anyone? Thanks for the help!

[phade]

Hiya jcairns,

The red led (!) on the top right hand side of the speedo is a multifunction warning light. It is for either of the following:-

- Low brake fluid level warning
- Alternator

I think in this case it could be any of the following:-

- Fan belt too slack
- Alternator brushes worn out
- Alternator regulator needs replacing or
- Alternator worn out

That's what used to happen on my car (at least it's not a new gearbox as it is in my case !!!)

Regards,

Phil

[jcairns]

aah dead on! Yes I was thinking it MUST be something to do with the alternator

It had crossed my mind that beetles UK had simply wired up the speedo wrong, but hey you spotted it! Ive already bought a new fan belt and tightene it up right, so now I have ordered a new regulator/brush set from the net, we'll see how it works out

so what was up with your gear case, if you dont mind me asking? I like being prepared...

Thanks so much for the help phil!

[phade]

The first thing you will notice when something is wrong with your gearbox is a very nasty vibration. This happened to me when 4th gear nearly went at 120,000 miles (nearly 200,000 km).

I had my gearbox rebuilt, but unfortunately my gearbox now jumps out of 3rd gear and that nasty vibration has returned (it's now down about 165,000 miles). I'll now be replacing the gearbox with a rebuilt one from Custom Speed Parts (http://www.csp-shop.de), but I have also asked Manfred about what he thinks of those gearboxes before I order one (he had also suggested another place as well but they were more expensive). They are a lot cheaper than VW Heritage here in the UK !!!

In your case, the first thing I would do is to change the gearbox oil !!! Use good quality EP80/90 gearbox oil (eg. Castrol, etc). Avoid the VW stuff. Unfortunately in my case I knew very little about this until it was too late !!

The alternator its self (if you need to replace it for any reason) is a standard 51 Amp alternator. These alternators fit mexican beetles from 1994 model year (the very first 1600i mexican beetles were fitted with a dynamo) and all european beetles from 1975 model year.

Try my other suggestions first before you decide to replace the alternator and when you do replace the alternator don't do up the fan belt up too tight !!! The fan belt's deflection should be between 11mm to 14mm (11mm with a brand new fan belt) at the centre with light thumb pressure. This is documented on the 1600i website under the "Mechanic" section.

I hope this helps.

Phil

[jcairns]

In the end Ive had to replace the alternator - problem has completely gone now! Im going to see If I can get the old one refurbished and keep it as a spare (or sell it on, depends how I feel lol)

Thanks for the help everyone!

James