SOLVED - Broken down in burns oregon and driving w/bad generator

[jacobcallaghan]

Hello samba people,

I am in need of any info of vw people near burns Oregon? My 12volt generator has failed me on my way to Utah. Have re polarized and put on my new spare regulator to no avail. Does any one have a 12v generator near the area?

Cheers,

Jacob
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60 Indian Red Bug
61 SK692A So23
61 Double Cab

[jacobcallaghan]

Also how far realistically can one drive on a battery? Because I could always buy a few batteries and continue on to Boise where I could get parts.
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60 Indian Red Bug
61 SK692A So23
61 Double Cab

[qwerty]

I'm not in Oregon, but can you check the brushes? Sometimes the brushes wear down so much that there is no longer any spring tension pushing on the brush and it doesn't contact the armature anymore. You can check this by pushing on the spring to see if the red light goes out. If so, you might be able to wedge something small between the spring and the brush which will increase the contact of the brush temporarily and get you down the road until you can get a new set of brushes.

[FarmerBill]

If you have a newish battery that will hold a full charge you can drive almost all day. As long as you kill power to everything except your ignition system. I once drove from Pacifica, CA to Port Angeles, WA on 4 battery charges. In a perfect world your ignition system should be using 3-4 amps per hour and your battery should have 45-50 amp hours in it. As long as you don't use your starter, lights, or radio you should be able to drive for at least 10 hours.

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=728478&highlight=

[jacobcallaghan]

Thanks for the replies. Fate seemed to be in my favor and a buddies mom is coincidentally driving from right near my house past where I am. She is able to pick up all I need from my place and drop it off. Problem should be resolved. Feel free to delete this moderators.
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60 Indian Red Bug
61 SK692A So23
61 Double Cab

[EverettB]

Sounds good, I'll update the title but the information on how you can drive is useful for the future so I'll leave that.

I once drove from around 2 hours outside LA to my house in Phoenix (5-6 hour drive) on a bad generator in my 6v Kombi. No problems until I was almost at my house and needed to use the headlights, then the engine would cut out a little.
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[Jacks]

I also had a similar situation, non functioning generator, driving at night. Pulled a fuse from one of the headlights, likewise one from the taillight, dimmed the gauge illumination to off. All other devices off. Drove a couple hours no problem
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Jack Staggs
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[velvetgreen]

agreed you can drive a long time sans generator if you don't use any "extra" electrical devices . bonus points if you buy a trickle charge and a spare battery

[Bruce Amacker]

Info here is correct. I've measured amp draw at the coil, IIRC it draws about 2 amps, divide the amp hour rating of your battery for how many hours you can drive without accessories. You should easily make all day, and then slow charge all night for another day's driving.

In my youth (many decades ago) I had a dune buggy that I drove for years, the charging system never did work on it.
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[jacobcallaghan]

New generator is in and we are back on the road. Thanks for the help.
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60 Indian Red Bug
61 SK692A So23
61 Double Cab

[Clara]

Glad it's sorted!

[Eric&Barb]

Have had the generator fry twice on long trips with over 700 miles to get back home. Used as little electrical items as possible and parked/camped before sunset.
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[turkis-deluxe]

I had the same thing happen in the late 90's while driving my deluxe down from the SF Bay Area to the VW Classic in Irvine. Fried the alternator and drove for about five hours on the battery. Did an alt swap in the parking lot of the Crown Plaza in hot ass weather! This was also the time I realized you could swap a gen/alt without pulling the motor!

[jacobcallaghan]

Great info thanks for sharing. I now know I can run far on battery alone. My generator is working great….

But my sad little 40hp seized 300 miles later. Time to do a motor swap in the morning and continue on.
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60 Indian Red Bug
61 SK692A So23
61 Double Cab

[earlywesty]