# Frozen Alternator?



## delta v (Jun 8, 2001)

>Sorry for the cross-post (also in the B3 forum), but since I'm trying to get this fixed by friday, I'm hoping to get as many views and ideas on this as possible.
So I just left work to go home, started my car up (which wasnt fun, considering i live in upstate NY, near ground zero of the cold and snow), and noticed that there was smoke coming out from under the hood. Additionally, my alternator light was on in the car. I shut the car off (91 80 Quattro, NG engine), and start poking around to see what was wrong--there was some burnt looking snow under the car, but I finally could see that my alternator cable was broken and just lying there (it looked worn away). I reached in to the alternator and was unable to turn it by hand.
Has this ever happened to anyone else? Unfortunately, my lower grill broke alittle while ago, and I never put a new one on, so the snow had just kind of piled up inside of it, which, when added to the snow and cold temperatures we've had recently, makes me think it might actually be frozen. Would it be easy to warm up and unfreeze, and just put a new belt on?
Any help would be very appreciated...I can get a ride home easily, but I was planning on traveling to philly this weekend (although I have no qualms against fixing this myself...I replaced the voltage regulator and belts about two years ago when I got the car).
Edit: Also, does anyone know ~how far I can make it without an alternator (ie, on battery power?)? Home is only a few miles/minutes away...if I could get it home and take a wack with a hairdrier, i may be able to fix this for less than the 160 autozone wants for a new alternator.


_Modified by delta v at 5:45 PM 2/14/2007_


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## PerL (Jan 9, 2001)

*Re: Frozen Alternator? (delta v)*


_Quote, originally posted by *delta v* »_Edit: Also, does anyone know ~how far I can make it without an alternator (ie, on battery power?)? Home is only a few miles/minutes away...if I could get it home and take a wack with a hairdrier, i may be able to fix this for less than the 160 autozone wants for a new alternator.

Sorry that I cant answer the part about it being frozen, but I can answer this, and tell a story at the same time.
A few years ago, I was at an VW-Audi club winter driving event, where we drove our own cars on a track made on an airfield closed for winter. One guy there drove a 1990 Coupe quattro 10V, which, of course, has the NG just like you.
The owner of this car hit the snow banks and managed somehow to snap the alternator belt in the process. Nobody at the site had a spare belt of the eact length, so he decided to try to limp back to the lodges we were staying at. He followed my group of 4 cars, as me and my friends decided to drive the two hours back to the lodges while we still had daylight. 
The owner of this Cq shut off all unnecessary power such as lights, heater and stuff, and barely used the wipers when needed. After about an hour's worth of driving, he reported that he was low on battery, just as we pulled in to an old gas station, the kind with the little old lady behind the counter, and lots of car parts in the corner. She had thermostats, spark plugs, bulbs, batteries and of course, belts, so I saved the day for him and installed a new belt for his alternator. Afterwards, he was so low on battery that we had to give him a push to get him started again.
So, there's your answer. Shut off anything not needed, and you can drive for about an hour on battery alone, in an NG powered Type 89.


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