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  View original topic: 12 volt generator Bosch
pernest Mon Mar 20, 2023 11:40 am

Amazon sells Bosch 12v 0101302111 compatible? Generators. The armature on my old Bosch is toast — it’s arching. Would love to hear some opinions on the new Bosch 12v generators.

jinx758 Mon Mar 20, 2023 1:14 pm

Howdy ...

"New" Bosch is probably Taiwan or China, heck Mercedes is Brazilian now.

Mite be worth it to have a local shop do a rewire/rebush/rebuild but week a specialist.
You could easily take brushes out to inspect them & the armature for scoring & excessive carbon build up.

Best luck ... jinx

pernest Mon Mar 20, 2023 2:37 pm

A local shop inspected it today and said the armature is no good and is arching. So it’s either get a new generator, alternator, or armature for the old generator which I believe is Brazilian.

Amazon is pretty good at returns so I’m thinking of getting a “Bosch” thru them with a cheap protection plan.

jinx758 Mon Mar 20, 2023 5:19 pm

Scam - a - zon ...

Fingers crossed !
Protection plan is a good idea, too.

Hope it lasts ... stay safe

jinx

pernest Mon Mar 20, 2023 7:53 pm

Thanks Jinx!

pernest Thu Mar 30, 2023 4:50 pm

Update

I found a new/ rebuilt generator at NAPA — an exact replacement.

Installed it but the red light stayed on. Took the generator to a respected shop — his testing led him to say it should work. Reinstalled it but the red light is still as bright as ever.

I hooked a wire between the DF contact and the generator ground screw, started the car, then hooked my battery voltage tester leads to the D+ and the generator ground screw. The voltage needle didn’t budge. No voltage at all.

Kind of frustrating!

bnam Thu Mar 30, 2023 5:19 pm

You need to first polarize the genereTor. Please look up that procedure. Easy.

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=337164&highlight=polarize+gen

heimlich Thu Mar 30, 2023 6:03 pm

New Bosch generators are still made in Mexico along with the Alternators. The production has not moved to another country as of yet.


pernest Fri Mar 31, 2023 7:54 am

Thanks bnam.

Got generator to spin as described in your attachment and retested for output. It’s putting out some pretty good voltage and I’m convinced it’s working fine. Will go to next step and check regulator. Thanks!

pernest Fri Mar 31, 2023 4:37 pm

Started the car today and the generator light went off briefly but came back on after just a few blocks. The brake light came on for no reason — the brakes are working fine.

Did some more testing later. Voltage across the battery was 12.3 before cranking. At idle it was 12.1. Never got over 12.2 when racing the engine. A post that I saw suggested testing for system voltage but did not tell how. Prior testing showed that the generator is capable of producing 35 volts plus (unregulated) so I think it’s working fine.

I would like to solve the problem myself without having to take the car to a shop. Thanks for the help you have given me on this.

goober Fri Mar 31, 2023 10:55 pm

Check to make sure the brushes move freely in their holders.

heimlich Sat Apr 01, 2023 8:56 am

You can also clean up the area where the brushes rub. Take some very find sandpaper to it.

pernest Sat Apr 01, 2023 11:31 am

Per instructions below, I tested the “new” generator installed and it more than exceeded the 35 volt requirement when I raced the engine.





See photo of old voltage regulator. The information above suggests it’s probably no longer working. The red light continues. Thanks all.



pernest Mon Apr 03, 2023 2:06 pm

Happy ending (maybe). Hate just throwing parts at a problem and I noticed that my battery cables fit loosely over the posts but were not tight. I tightened them with the result that the red light went out and the battery is being charged when the car is running.

The old generator was arching but it appears the old regulator is working fine. Thanks for the info you provided — it helped a lot!



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