# Electronics: Consumers being switched off



## phillytom (Sep 26, 2004)

Hey everybody:
I had my '04 V6 Egg in this week for the 10K service, and asked them to look at a few things including the flickering compass and fast clock. They said after testing that they wanted to put in a new alternator. They had it all this week to get that done.
When I picked it up last night I got 2 of the "consumers being switched off" messages, and then 3 times this morning on an hour drive - the last one followed by "AC being turned" off. The voltmeter looked like it was around 12/12.5 when I got the messages, although it has been as high as 14. I thought it was always stable before. I was driving while I got all messages (not parked).
From my reading of the posts on here, it looks like the battery is not getting enough charge and the message indicates things are being shut down to save battery life. 
So I called the dealer this morning, and the service guy said that was normal, since they had discharged the battery while working on the alternator, and that I could "go into the MFI and turn back on what I wanted"








Forgetting the second part







, has anyone had an alternator replaced, and/or run the battery down? Is the message normal while it's charging back up, or am I just waiting for a dead battery and I should bring it back in? (Of course, if the battery is going to die, I'm sure it will wait until the wife and baby are in the car, so I should be safe for the commute home LOL








This is all a bit of a bummer since they had it all week, but more so since this cure for the flickering compass seems worse than the problem








Also - I've seen that a lot of people have had issues with the altnerator -> battery cable - how do you all approach this with the service dept? Do you just say "yeah, I heard this on the internet/vwvortex?" 
Any advice appreciated.


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## Curjo (Nov 21, 2003)

*Re: Electronics: Consumers being switched off (phillytom)*


_Quote, originally posted by *phillytom* »_So I called the dealer this morning, and the service guy said that was normal, since they had discharged the battery while working on the alternator, and that I could "go into the MFI and turn back on what I wanted"








Any advice appreciated. 

Your suspicions are probably correct. I'd recommend putting a charger on the battery (use the connections under the hood) and get the battery charged up. Naturally, your dealer should have done this before releasing the car to you. I'm not terribly confident that the alternator will recharge the battery fast enough to reduce your risk of encountering a dead battery.


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## Phagus (Aug 5, 2003)

*Re: Electronics: Consumers being switched off (phillytom)*


_Quote, originally posted by *phillytom* »_
Hey everybody:
I had my '04 V6 Egg in this week for the 10K service, and asked them to look at a few things including the flickering compass and fast clock. They said after testing that they wanted to put in a new alternator. They had it all this week to get that done.
When I picked it up last night I got 2 of the "consumers being switched off" messages, and then 3 times this morning on an hour drive - the last one followed by "AC being turned" off. The voltmeter looked like it was around 12/12.5 when I got the messages, although it has been as high as 14. I thought it was always stable before. I was driving while I got all messages (not parked).
From my reading of the posts on here, it looks like the battery is not getting enough charge and the message indicates things are being shut down to save battery life. 
So I called the dealer this morning, and the service guy said that was normal, since they had discharged the battery while working on the alternator, and that I could "go into the MFI and turn back on what I wanted"








Forgetting the second part







, has anyone had an alternator replaced, and/or run the battery down? Is the message normal while it's charging back up, or am I just waiting for a dead battery and I should bring it back in? (Of course, if the battery is going to die, I'm sure it will wait until the wife and baby are in the car, so I should be safe for the commute home LOL








This is all a bit of a bummer since they had it all week, but more so since this cure for the flickering compass seems worse than the problem








Also - I've seen that a lot of people have had issues with the altnerator -> battery cable - how do you all approach this with the service dept? Do you just say "yeah, I heard this on the internet/vwvortex?" 
Any advice appreciated. 

voltmeter at 12 V with the engine running means there is no charge coming to the battery.
a bad alternator is very easy to diagnose using the VAS tool. 
if your charge voltage (on the MFI gauge) is less than 14V with the new alternator, your alternator-battery cable is no good. the MFI gauge shows the voltage on the battery posts. you can tell your service people that you measured the voltage drop in the alt-battery harness yourself and found it to be (14V - your average reading). tell them that the spec is <0.2V.


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## guitarman (Jul 11, 2004)

*Re: Electronics: Consumers being switched off (****us)*

Also, if your battery was discharged the alternator reading should show the full 14 volts as it tries to re-charge the battery. Mine never reads less than 14 volts.


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## phillytom (Sep 26, 2004)

*Re: Electronics: Consumers being switched off (phillytom)*

OK, so here's what happened next. I wanted to post this so others don't make the same mistake.
The service advisor had told me the warning was OK after the battery had been charged, that I might see it a few more times while the battery charged. Voltmeter was at 12/12.5 still. True or false, it didn't work out that way. I was going to hook it up to a charger last night and see if it happened again today.
I was driving home last night and got the consumers message again, then a few minutes later the "Turning off AC". I turned off everything else (seats, radio, inside lights) and decided to head for the dealer. I was about halfway there when things started to go downhill. I got multiple 'Brake Workshop' warnings, and the voltmeter started dipping below 12. My mistake here was not finding someplace safe, pulling over and calling for a tow. I thought about it, but figured roadside might not cover a tow just for a brake message. Dumb, I should have just paid it.
So I got on I95 south thinking I would still make it to the dealer (another mistake). Then things stated to escalate. The airbag fault started flashing, the interior lights dimming. The engine also started getting wacky, shifting very high. I was looking for a place to pull over, but I was in a cattle shoot (construction zone). 
Then warnings started coming, and all interior lights shut off. The MFI would fade in and out. The car was running and I though (foolishly perhaps) that the engine would be ok and I would still be able to limp someplace safer. Eventually the red brake light started flashing and beeping 4 times in succession. The engine went down to 1500 rpms and the car was just coasting. Power steering was dead, hitting the gas had no effect. I was still in the cattle shoot. I thought it was just going to stall out, but it kept running at 1-2 mph, and I was finally able to get across an exit ramp and pull over on the ramp. It was hairy.
Roadside assist was OK, although we had to fight about the fact that I was not going to climb over the guard rail to read them the vin (on the side of I95). Tow showed up in about an hour and I dropped it at the dealer. Tow guy was funny - he says he'd never towed an Egg before. Wanted to sit in it, was asking how it ran







(I said great until today!)
So I feel a little dumb for not pulling over when I saw the workshop message, even though the car was running fine. Needless to say, I also a little peeved at the service guy who said it was fine to drive. I'm guessing they didn't even do a test drive after they put the alternator in, since I was less then 5 minutes off the lot when I first got the consumer message. Who knows.
So I'll call the dealer on Monday and discuss. Do you all still reccomend that I have them look at the alternator -> battery cable? I did not get home to check the voltage on the alternator side.
Anyway - just wanted to let everyone know what it looks like when all the electrics start shutting down. 
You should pull over before I did


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## Rastahmann (Jul 8, 2004)

*Re: Electronics: Consumers being switched off (phillytom)*

Sorry to hear about your incident! I've been having the same errors showing up and when I took it to the dealer a couple of weeks ago they said there is a new battery cable harness that will replace the current one if you're having problems with voltage drop like you and I are having.
The Tech had just gone to the latest Touareg service update and they said some battery cables are causing a voltage drop, which then makes your subsystems act up, and then cause them to start shutting down.
The problem is they are supposedly waiting on these new battery harnesses from Germany.
I should call my dealer on Monday and see what the status is. I'd hate to be stranded like you were.
Be sure and post what your dealer does to remedy the situation and we'll compare.
John


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## cybulman (Dec 18, 2003)

*Re: Electronics: Consumers being switched off (Rastahmann)*

Guys...I had posted some time ago about the battery to alternator harnesses not being tight enough or put back correctly after disconnecting for shipping out.
Make sure these are in good condition and tightened.
I use the Battery Tender Plus $49 at batterystuff.com - when leaving the Egg indoors, for more than 3-4 days at a time. It is also a good thing to have and recharge. When parked outdoors in a sunny lot for 4-5 days or more, I plug in the VW solar charger that comes with the vehicle.
Cy


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## spockcat (Jun 5, 2003)

*Re: Electronics: Consumers being switched off (phillytom)*


_Quote, originally posted by *phillytom* »_ Tow showed up in about an hour and I dropped it at the dealer. Tow guy was funny - he says he'd never towed an Egg before. Wanted to sit in it, was asking how it ran







(I said great until today!)

I hope it wasn't towed but rather flatbedded. You shouldn't tow a Touareg with just two wheels off the ground.


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## phillytom (Sep 26, 2004)

*Re: Electronics: Consumers being switched off (spockcat)*

It was indeed a flatbed. Somewhat ironically, I was sitting in traffic today in the wife's Jetta and watched a flatbed from the same company go by me with a Cayenne on it. Hmmm....


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## phillytom (Sep 26, 2004)

*Re: Electronics: Consumers being switched off (phillytom)*

So I heard form the dealer this morning. Service rep says they charged up the bettery and took it for a 10 mile test drive and it was fine. I brought up the battery alternator cable and he said they checked it and he thought the cable was a V8 problem, not a V6 problem...
I said I was a little suspicious that a weak battery charge would have caused that, and he asked if he could keep it overnight and he would drive it home to see if it did anything. I said OK.
I'll check that cable when I get it back, but I'll be surprised if this is over and if it was just a weak battery charge - I don't see how a weak charge could lead to a complete power failure, while driving.


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## 4x4s (Dec 18, 2003)

*Re: Electronics: Consumers being switched off (phillytom)*

Before you pick it up, you should explicitly ask them what the current voltmeter reading is while driving. Anything less than 14v, or so, and you should tell them to keep it until it's fixed.


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## spockcat (Jun 5, 2003)

*Re: Electronics: Consumers being switched off (phillytom)*

One would expect that the alternator could supply enough power to run the electrics (especially if most major users were off already) to keep the engine running and charge the battery. If it wasn't strong enough, everyone would eventually have dead batteries. Ask your dealer why the alternator couldn't keep the car running.


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## phillytom (Sep 26, 2004)

*Re: Electronics: Consumers being switched off (phillytom)*

Another update: spoke with the dealer, siad their tests had shown a weak battery, so they replaced that, and have seen no messages. They said the voltmeter has not budged off 14. I will pick it up tonight and update in the next few days to let everyone know how it turned out.


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## guitarman (Jul 11, 2004)

*Re: Electronics: Consumers being switched off (phillytom)*

I agree with Spock, if the alternator is working properly, it should supply enough juice to keep the car running for sure! No way a dead battery caused what happened to you....I'd find another dealer. Any dealer that releases the car to you like that, well, I wouldn't want them working on my car. It's a fact that if the alternator is supplying juice to the battery you could theoretically keep going forever. Just that it wouldn't start. What you explained sounds like a bad alternator or cable to me. Only scenario would be if the battery had short circuited so it wouldn't pass any current at all. Good luck.


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## mishref (Jan 11, 2004)

*Re: Electronics: Consumers being switched off (guitarman)*

FWIW, I had a dead batrery a while back (almost a year ago). They charged the battery and started the car, havent had any problems since.


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## phillytom (Sep 26, 2004)

*Re: Electronics: Consumers being switched off (phillytom)*

Well, it was fine on the 10 miles or so home from the dealer. The voltmeter stayed pegged at 14 and no messages. I'm half wondering if some of the above comments were right and the alternator wasn't hooked up correctly, or was unhooked and rehooked and is ok now. 
I will post again after tomorrow and finish this thread. If I see the consumers message again I'm just going to pull over (someplace safe this time) and call my new pals for a tow


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