Hello everyone,

I've searched through the forums here but have yet to find a solution more or less. My issue is I start my car (2001 A4 Quattro 2.8L V6 65K!) and the voltmeter reads 10-11. I rev the engine and it goes back up to 13.5/14.5 and stays there generally. It will at times bleed back to 12.5/13 while driving. Yesterday while using the AC, it dropped below 12v for 10 minutes and I had to get it jumped to make it to AutoZone to get it tested.

I really don't want to change the alternator as I feel it should be good with the small amount of miles on my car. The battery was tested at AutoZone and he said it passed but might need to be replaced in a few months as it is exactly 3 years old, which happens to be the end of the warranty period.

Any help would be reatly appreciated. Again, I'd rather trouble shoot things before sinking $$$ in a new alternator.

 

First thing to check are the grounds. Faulty grounds can cause very strange charging issues.

I think that the brushes and voltage regulators in the Valeo alternators are replaceable. If you are savvy with a soldering iron, you could DIY it. Otherwise, I would recommend finding a local company that rebuilds your stock unit rather than buying one of the Chinese reman units from the parts store.