Alternator

[dieterbohlen]

Picked up my car yesterday from the dealership after having done some warranty work (clutch replacement on DSG due to jerking on 2nd gear). When I drove off the parking lot I really fel the difference, the car just flows couldn't really feel the gear change, no jerking just perfect.
Later that day on my way home I've noticed that the headlights started to blink randomly. This morning car started with slight struggle which made me vey suspicious. 10 minutes in the the drive aircon went and gears started to do weird thing, it went from D5 to D and then back to D5. Anyway when I was pulling into car park at work, dashboard started to go all weir and stearing wheel started to go into lock position. Luckily I managed to drive into parking spot and then car just died.

Called dealership immediately but they're not working today, so next working day is on Monday. RAC came out and the guy said that alternator is not charging battery and the best they can do is to tow the car back home and then to dealership on Monday morning.
The car is only 1,5 years old and that happen, right after they did service (end of November) and warranty replacement straight after that. My guess is they screw up something during the last work.

So frustrating, right before Christmas. Dont know what's going to happen on Monday. Can dealership refuse to take the car and arrange a loan car for the next few days until it get fixed? They gave us loan car for three days when they were changing the clutch under warranty. Also how long does it take to change alternator?

[Umai Naa!!]

There's a big earth strap on the transmission. It's possible that it's been left loose.

If I were you, I'd ring them, let them know what has happened and that the car is on it's way over.

[dieterbohlen]

There's a big earth strap on the transmission. It's possible that it's been left loose.

If I were you, I'd ring them, let them know what has happened and that the car is on it's way over.

I did call them but the girl in sales department said that no one is available today in the service department and she will send a message to them and they will get it on Monday morning. I will call them first thing Monday morning but they were saying that they were too busy and I am not sure if they will even care enough to take the car in. If they refuse it means we'll be without the car for at least a week.

[Umai Naa!!]

Push to get them to at least diagnose it. Best case, it'll be something simple, and you'll get your car back the same day.

[dieterbohlen]

Push to get them to at least diagnose it. Best case, it'll be something simple, and you'll get your car back the same day.

Thanks for advice. Hope it's nothing major. Will try to push them on Monday.

[tonymy01]

What was the verdict? I reckon earth strap sounds plausible also (I reckon loose bolt though, rather than missing, as missing it likely wouldn't crank).

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2

[dieterbohlen]

What was the verdict? I reckon earth strap sounds plausible also (I reckon loose bolt though, rather than missing, as missing it likely wouldn't crank).

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2

Rang up the dealership yesterday (VW Melville) at 8:00am and told them about the situation. Surprisingly they told me to bring it in ASAP (I thought they will make me wait until after Christmas), so I arranged for RAC tow truck via VW Roadside assistance. They picked it up within 45 minutes and dropped off at the dealership. The guy said that we can wait while they take a look at the car and if they won't be able to fix it right away they promised a loan car. So we waited in the lounge for about 30 minutes. The guy came back and apologised for the trouble and said that it is all fixed now. Apparently when they were replacing clutch they didn't wire the system properly, so that what caused it to shut down immediately. So he suggested to drive around for about half hour to recharge drained battery. We did that (but stayed very close to the dealership just in case). Then I stopped and started the car several times and it was back to normal. Fingers crossed it won't happen again.

On the other note, after clutch replacement the car just "flows", never experienced that in the last year and a half I had the car. It was always jerky and the gear wasn't changing as smooth as it is now. So I'm very happy. I remember I mentioned 2nd gear problem at the first service which I did at John Hughes and they dismissed it and didn't do anything about it. VW Melville immediately responded to my problem and booked me in for a replacement. Thumbs up for Melville...
Hope next time they do car service they wire it back properly It was kind of lucky that I didn't have to work on Sunday otherwise I'll be screwed

[AdamD]

Then I stopped and started the car several times and it was back to normal.

Good result!