04 VW Passat - alternator problems

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angrylad

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I have a 04 VW Passat and the alternator went on it as I was driving in town this afternoon - is this normal for a three year old car and does anyone have any idea how much it will cost - I need to drive it to work (circa 5 miles) as that's where the mechanic I use is - do you know if this will be ok, power steering is gone!!
 
if the power steering has packed up as well as the alternator light comming on this indicates that your problem is a broken fan belt.

would not chance driving the car for any distance . if the battery goes dead along the way the car will just cut out on the side of the road.
 
Thanks, that makes sense as just before it happened the car shook and there was noise coming from the engine like there was something caught in the fan belt (everytime I reved the car a noise emitted from the engine) then it stopped (fan belt must of snapped) There is a garage up the road from my house but I only got a replacement fan belt from my garage in September last. I know you said not to drive but do you think that it's worth a go it's a fairly straight road
 
Hmmm With electric fuel pumps etc the discharge rate from a battery which is not being replenished by the alternator can be frighteningly high. I wouldn't take the chance unless its a quiet piece of road and maybe someone follow
you with a tow rope just in case.Did the belt you got replaced in sept fail suddenly as well? Get your mechanic to look at the belt tensioner beacuse a belt should last a lot longer than 4 months.
 
caff said:
Hmmm With electric fuel pumps etc the discharge rate from a battery which is not being replenished by the alternator can be frighteningly high. I wouldn't take the chance unless its a quiet piece of road and maybe someone follow
you with a tow rope just in case.Did the belt you got replaced in sept fail suddenly as well? Get your mechanic to look at the belt tensioner beacuse a belt should last a lot longer than 4 months.
Click to expand...

Tend to aggree.. Do you have road side assist with your insurance perhaps, get it towed under that. Is the car still under warrent? 04 it sounds like it should be, get the garage to collect.

I had a fan belt go off a pully in my car - got sucked into the timing belt (VW layout is prob diffenent to mine so this may not happen). I learnt a valuable lesson that day...
 
I did not take anyones advice and I went for it this morning - made to work safely thank God!!!

Brought it too my local garage and what actually happened was that the piston came out from the middle of the alternator and cut through the fan.

I have it fixed now and all for the sum of E244.00

Thanks for all the advice - maybe it might warn other drivers that this is a possibility as the mechanic advised that he has seen this before in VW diesels!!
 
A piston in the alternator!!! What a load of Bull Sh**e.I think you should go to another garage! Sounds like one of Bertie's ramblings in his anorak days. For God sake will you go back to that"garage" and ask them what really happened because 244 sheets for an alternator belt or is it an alternator piston is a rip off.
 
early passats (last shape)had many problems with the alternator over the years. good cars but not the mythical german quality expected.

caff is correct, piston in the alternator!!!!!! go back, get some money back
 
Calm down lads, Give angrylad a chance, Ye lads say ye know 04 passat dsl so you would know that the alt gets it tension from a pulley which is tensioned by a damper, shock, piston what ever you want to call it. And it brakes nearly as often as the pulley off the alt. The damper off V.W. is €125.00 plus vat off a V.W. dealer so maybe it's that that went and the labour and fan belt brings up the rest. So angrylad while I dont agree with you driving the car with this noise in the car you prob didn't get ripped off.
 
Thanks Mr2 and sorry to everyone it wasn't a piston, the breakdown of the bill was;

Repairs to Alternator Pulley E98
Alternator Belt E17
Labour E100

and then the good all VAT E 29.03

TOTAL E244.03
 
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