Is this normal? Possibly dying alternator?

[V®6]

Sorry guys another noob question

I've noticed whenever I start my car, the dash and headlights usual sit at half power until the car gets to about 40km and they then light up fully.

Is this normal for my VR or would it be safe to say something is wrong??

[VeeDubs]

Sorry guys another noob question

I've noticed whenever I start my car, the dash and headlights usual sit at half power until the car gets to about 40km and they then light up fully.

Is this normal for my VR or would it be safe to say something is wrong??

ive never noticed, ill check tonight but i dont think it happens in mine. is ur starter slow to turn over at first?

[V®6]

I wouldn't say it's slow. the car starts pretty much instantaneously whenever I start her.

[Mrk_Mickey]

Yeah don't think it's a battery issue. Could be a wiring issue but I would have guessed the alternator first as well. I've got a bit of flickering light going on when it's really cold in the mornings, but I just put that down to old car :D

[V®6]

I've also noticed when I first start the car in the morning my radio cuts out when I select reverse gear and when I have the steering wheel at full lock

[sydVR6]

I've also noticed when I first start the car in the morning my radio cuts out when I select reverse gear and when I have the steering wheel at full lock

This sounds like an earth issue. Have you checked to see that the battery negative terminal is still securely attached to its place on the body of the car?
Check to see it hasn't gunged up.

Also check to see that you have proper contact on the negative terminal itself. Undo the terminal and clean both surfaces up with a wire brush, bolt them back together and then coat the outside of the terminal/connector with some lithium grease to stop them corroding again.

You can do the same to the chassis earthing point depending on whether it bolts up or welds up to the earth strap.
Worth checking either way.

[V®6]

This sounds like an earth issue. Have you checked to see that the battery negative terminal is still securely attached to its place on the body of the car?
Check to see it hasn't gunged up.

Also check to see that you have proper contact on the negative terminal itself. Undo the terminal and clean both surfaces up with a wire brush, bolt them back together and then coat the outside of the terminal/connector with some lithium grease to stop them corroding again.

You can do the same to the chassis earthing point depending on whether it bolts up or welds up to the earth strap.
Worth checking either way.

I shall do that, thanks for that. I was actually contemplating putting in a few extra earths shortly also.

[Mrk_Mickey]

Oops, I overlooked the earth! Yeah that definitely sounds like bad earthing. I think mk3's seem to be having more frequent earthing problems now, d'oh..

[V®6]

Thanks for the help guys. Mickey it's not that bad, earth is easy to fix. There's plenty of other things that could be worse like a coil going bust

[V®6]

This sounds like an earth issue. Have you checked to see that the battery negative terminal is still securely attached to its place on the body of the car?
Check to see it hasn't gunged up.

Also check to see that you have proper contact on the negative terminal itself. Undo the terminal and clean both surfaces up with a wire brush, bolt them back together and then coat the outside of the terminal/connector with some lithium grease to stop them corroding again.

You can do the same to the chassis earthing point depending on whether it bolts up or welds up to the earth strap.
Worth checking either way.

Ok I've check the negative battery terminal and where it earths to the body and the transmission, and all seems to be in order. They're not loose and there is no gunk on the negative terminal at all.

I noticed a little bit of gunk on the positive terminal though

[gldgti]

Sorry guys another noob question

I've noticed whenever I start my car, the dash and headlights usual sit at half power until the car gets to about 40km and they then light up fully.

Is this normal for my VR or would it be safe to say something is wrong??

check your belt tension. sounds like the accessory belt is slipping/virating too much at low revs to charge properly... as you speed up (engine speed increases too) it tensions up enough to work.

check that there is reasonable tension on the belt when the car isnt running, and check that the belts not flapping around while at idle.

[V®6]

checked the belt and had a good look at idle. There is good tension there and I can't hear or see anything flapping around

[sydVR6]

Do you have a multi-metre you can use?

Might be worth seeing what your alternator is doing.

[V®6]

I'll have to borrow one but I'll give it a go on the weekend