Good morning all,

I have been finding that over the last 2 weeks or so that my daughter's Bug has been increasingly difficult to start.
I replaced the Earth cab;e from the Battery to the Chassis and ensured that all connections were solid and clean.
Yesterday it refused to start at all and I had to clutch start it to put in into the garage last night. The ignition light in the speedo glowed dimly as I turned the key to the start position so I assumed that the battery was dead. As it is a very new 550CCa sealed battery it had me scrathing my head as to the reason it was flat. I used a screw driver and undid the filler plug which also doubles as a battery condition indicator and it was then I saw that there was little if any acid in the case.

The question is, would I be correct in assuming that the voltage regulator has had the proverbial Richard (no offence to the Richards on here) and if so..can I clean and adjust it or do I replace it.??

Cheers

do you have any idea what the battery is charging at??
13V ??

Slip into the auto electricians and get them to test the charge rate as the alternator/generator/voltage regulator may need repair.It is very hard to see into these new sealed batteries as there is usually a plate just inside .

maybe battery is kaput

That also is a possibility if it is the same battery as when you brought it,the auto electrician will be able to diagnose that fairly quickly.

HI
usually replace the voltage regulator...

the acid is supposed to stay in the battery, and the water is boiled out in fumes..
then its refilled with distilled water.

Sounds like the battery has been over charged...
boiled dry...

I'm not sure what voltage the generator will put out..
maybe 16-18 volts..??

ReFill with distilled water -- replace the regulator..

charge the battery... and see how You go...

best of luck..

LEE


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The battery is only 2 months old, the former one was dying from the time we purchased the car.
When I checked the acid level in the battery it was nearly non existant, it took about 1200mls of distilled water to cover the plates again!!!.
I will have to take it to an Auto Elec and get them to check the charging system as I'm not exactly full on with Auto Electrickery.

Well..I hope that I've solved the problem.
Thanking all of you who gave me sound advise as well.

I went to CVD and got a new Voltage Regulator. In the process of fitting it I followed the instructional diagram a gentleman sent me. After taking each wire off the old regulator and fitting to the appropriate terminal on the new one I noticed that a thin brown wire with a "screw through' tab was just hanging limply beside the old regulator that was still in place. I looked at the diagram and from that I figured that this wire was the one that runs from the Ground terminal on the generator to the chassis of the regulator footing that is screwed to the chassis of the car.

I cleaned the tab and got some emery paper and cleaned the mounting area where the regulator feet are screwed to and fitted it under the attaching screw head. After fitting the new regulator which is a 'solid state' one I fired it up and with my multimeter I found that the battery was being fed with 14.85 volts

I let it run at a very fast idle and slowly the charging rate dropped to 13.2 volts.
Now..I'm not sure if the old regulator was the cause or the unattached brown wire had something to do with it...only time will tell I suppose. But now I am sure the regulator is working so that eliminates at least another item in the ignition/charging circuit that I don't have to worry about for the time being.
I have also purchased a 100amp 'Ford' type relay that I am going to fit so as to eliminate the heavy drain on the active wire that has to go to the dash and back to the starter solenoid. With any luck this will errdicate any future starting problems that result from voltage/amperage drop in the starting circuit.

Oh..new tailpipes fitted as well.

I will eventually sort this little bugger out...it will take time..but in the end my daughter should finish up with a very reliable and fun form of transport.

heh. You're lucky. You found the problem. I only just found why my bay is a serial battery killer. Well sort of. I'm still a bit mystified. IIRC it has boiled two batteries too.

had it running recently. Was actually using it to top up another battery. When I checked the voltage it was charging at over 17V!
Here's where it gets weird. Voltage up front measures about where it should be according to the dash gauge. Up back I have checked the voltage many times before and it was pretty much spot on. fun, eh?