sonofab*tch .
It ate my olng winded reply , now I'm pi$$ed off .
-Nate
--- In diesel_mercedes@yahoogroups.com, "CaitlinDean" <tinymachine@...> wrote:
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> > I"ve been having VR issues for about a month (and had it "fixed"), but now I'm missing one screw, and it's the one that appears to ground the VR(?) .... the one closer to center. I"ll share details when it's done, but ALL the info from this board since I joined in Oct has been keeping me sane and informed enough :)
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> I had to drive 1hr to/from ABQ Airport a few weeks back. I couldn't drive above 50mph without a lot of shaking because I need an alignment *that bad* (at the very least). After 5 days of sitting in the airport pkg lot, Betty started RIGHT UP (good girl), but on the way home I noticed the charging light flickering on and off.
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> Then I went through a move...all the craziness of packing and moving...and not quite paying attention to the little things, and in hindsight, starting was becoming a little sluggish. The day after big moving day, SWMBO (her car had been gently totaled, which was a blessing for us but that's another long OT story but we were sharing Betty) was out doing errands and the car just wouldn't start. Battery was deadzo.
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> I got it to my guy Thom at European Autowerks and we looked down at the VR and saw it sort of limply hanging out. He ended up filing down the oddly worn brushes, and he said the existing screws (apparently still attached to the dangler) just spun in the hole so he replaced that one, and charged up the battery and all seemed fine.
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> Until about a week later. No charging light flicker at all, but starting seemed to get more sluggish over time until one day it didn't start at all. I pulled the battery and had them do a free overnight charge at a FLAP and it tested ok. I put it back in and drove back to get the alternator tested and it wasn't high enough voltage.
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> So I ordered myself a "brandy new" Bosch voltage regulator from AutohausAZ at $28 and change (got myself a replacement oil pan drain plug and washer while there). When I finally crawled under to replace the VR (yep, should have done that maybe before ordering?) the screw that Thom had put in was still there, but the OTHER one (which i think was a non-standard, and probably not well fitting, bolt) was totally gone. And that hole had some metal wrapped around it, looking like some sort of grounding thingy.
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> So after some fastener confusion, I finally got the NEW VR installed, drove it back to the FLAP to retest the alternator and sure enough...she evened out at 13.62v. Which I know, from this board (and several of VWNate's posts) is the spot on correct number. Ahhhh.
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> I am still the most beginner of beginners, but other than the information I need to tackle some of these jobs, this board has given me enough to not have to freak out about every little thing that seems "wrong" with my car. I calmly, and to the best of my ability, do the troubleshooting I can, and with that I've fixed my car 2x in the past 6 weeks (other was pre-filter, which i knew was getting clogged just didn't get it in time). And I've got a great mechanic who is pricey, but does his best to work within my budget and support my beginner efforts to do my own repairs.
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> So...THANK YOU all for being so generous with your time, experience, and info!
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> Caitlin
> 1983 300SD
> Santa Fe
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