I got in to drive home from work today....started it up; and within seconds, the battery light lit up....and the message panel read, "Alternator Workshop".....what does this mean..? I am guessing that the Alternator is out of the charging circuit....and my battery is in jeopardy of becoming discharged....the dash lights are still bright, as are the headlights....for now.........there is an old school Alternator shop in the neighbourhood near my work....perhaps I should get it tested/rebuilt.....but seeing as this is my daily....I cannot afford much down time....has anyone had their car flash this "workshop" warning at them before...? ....it could very well be that it's just time to replace the alternator, I have no indication as to when this component was changed last .....(372,575 km on the clock!)....please advise.....thanks in advance Gents....!!!
...."Alternator Workshop"....?!?
KRAMMIT
1 - 13 of 13 Posts
I got in to drive home from work today....started it up; and within seconds, the battery light lit up....and the message panel read, "Alternator Workshop".....what does this mean..? I am guessing that the Alternator is out of the charging circuit....and my battery is in jeopardy of becoming discharged....the dash lights are still bright, as are the headlights....for now.........there is an old school Alternator shop in the neighbourhood near my work....perhaps I should get it tested/rebuilt.....but seeing as this is my daily....I cannot afford much down time....has anyone had their car flash this "workshop" warning at them before...? ....it could very well be that it's just time to replace the alternator, I have no indication as to when this component was changed last .....(372,575 km on the clock!)....please advise.....thanks in advance Gents....!!!
I had the same thing happen on my 2003 Passat about a year ago just after replacing the alternator. Come to find out the remanufactured alternator I had just installed from Napa was faulty and was over charging (16+ volts!) By the time I got home after 20 miles the alternator had fried my airbag circuit and wreaked havoc on my cluster electronics. The alternator was piping hot too. I replaced it with another remanufactured unit and everything worked great (except for my air bag). In my experience the "alternator workshop" warning comes up when the alternator is not charging properly. In your case it is probably under charging. Could be a loose serpentine belt, a bad alternator pulley, or the alternator itself could be failing.
...Thanks For Your Reply...
Thanks for your quick response CazGLI...!!! I think I just barely made it home under battery power....my dash lights were dimming and then a couple of codes lit up on the dash....first was the ABS and ASR lights....
....then a couple of moments later....the airbag malfunction light lit up....
...I am supposing the codes are being thrown due to low voltage availability.....head lamps were so-so....but not as bright, as when I left work, to come home.....my next thought was.....does the car have to be put into "lock carrier service position" to get at the alternator....?!? (...DAMN..!!)...how else can you even get to it....there is no other way.....and seeing as it is -13C outside right now.....not much chance of me being able to do it in the driveway.....I think I am going to have to ask a favour from my boss at work...[Ubungen Macht Den Meister...!!!].....I just don't think they will let me dissemble my car at work; and leave it overnight....until I get the alternator rebuilt/replaced.....but, one thing is for sure....if I don't ask....I won't know...thanks again for your reply...CHEERS...!!!
Thanks for your quick response CazGLI...!!! I think I just barely made it home under battery power....my dash lights were dimming and then a couple of codes lit up on the dash....first was the ABS and ASR lights....
....then a couple of moments later....the airbag malfunction light lit up....
...I am supposing the codes are being thrown due to low voltage availability.....head lamps were so-so....but not as bright, as when I left work, to come home.....my next thought was.....does the car have to be put into "lock carrier service position" to get at the alternator....?!? (...DAMN..!!)...how else can you even get to it....there is no other way.....and seeing as it is -13C outside right now.....not much chance of me being able to do it in the driveway.....I think I am going to have to ask a favour from my boss at work...[Ubungen Macht Den Meister...!!!].....I just don't think they will let me dissemble my car at work; and leave it overnight....until I get the alternator rebuilt/replaced.....but, one thing is for sure....if I don't ask....I won't know...thanks again for your reply...CHEERS...!!!
Which engine do you have? If it is the 1.8T you don't need to put it in service mode. If you remove the hose from the throttle body there is just enough space to squeeze the alternator out. It's tight and you'll probably have to take the plastic cover piece off of the power steering reservoir, but it fits. You may also have to remove the fan clutch to get the lower mounting bolt out.
....Really...?!?
I do have the 1.8t...AWM engine code....that would be excellent if I can get to the alternator without having to remove the whole front of the car...I made a special tool out of a centre punch; to stick in the notches/hole to remove the fan clutch...thanks for the input....!!! ...I will have to try to get at it tonight after work....thanks again...!!!
I do have the 1.8t...AWM engine code....that would be excellent if I can get to the alternator without having to remove the whole front of the car...I made a special tool out of a centre punch; to stick in the notches/hole to remove the fan clutch...thanks for the input....!!! ...I will have to try to get at it tonight after work....thanks again...!!!
...Not Fixed As Yet...
I called my usual Alt & Starter guy today.....only to find that his phone number is not assigned.....that's no good.....so I asked my parts guy to call HIS Alt & starter guy.....we determined that my car has a Valeo 90 Amp unit.....he had a Bosch 120 Amp unit....are they compatible/interchangeable...? Richard (the Alt guy) says that the car will only take what it needs as far as current goes; the only issue would be fitment....is there enough room to fit the 120 Amp unit in there....oh yeah, the Bosch unit has a clutch pulley; whereas the Valeo unit does not....the pulleys would have to be swapped....I am still driving with the old, non charging unit....only to and from work (8 km)....and I am recharging my battery at work, so that there is at least some life in it....gotta get this fixed quickly....I feel like I am driving on borrowed time.....!!!
I called my usual Alt & Starter guy today.....only to find that his phone number is not assigned.....that's no good.....so I asked my parts guy to call HIS Alt & starter guy.....we determined that my car has a Valeo 90 Amp unit.....he had a Bosch 120 Amp unit....are they compatible/interchangeable...? Richard (the Alt guy) says that the car will only take what it needs as far as current goes; the only issue would be fitment....is there enough room to fit the 120 Amp unit in there....oh yeah, the Bosch unit has a clutch pulley; whereas the Valeo unit does not....the pulleys would have to be swapped....I am still driving with the old, non charging unit....only to and from work (8 km)....and I am recharging my battery at work, so that there is at least some life in it....gotta get this fixed quickly....I feel like I am driving on borrowed time.....!!!
...Thanks For The Info...
Thank You for your input scotts13....the two units looked like they would both fit...I was just a little reticent to pull it apart to not have things go back together the way they should.....having heard your input makes me much more at ease wrt fitment issues....I will try to get pics of the two differing connections, for future reference....hopefully this will all be dealt with by the end of the day....thanks again....Cheers...!!!
Thank You for your input scotts13....the two units looked like they would both fit...I was just a little reticent to pull it apart to not have things go back together the way they should.....having heard your input makes me much more at ease wrt fitment issues....I will try to get pics of the two differing connections, for future reference....hopefully this will all be dealt with by the end of the day....thanks again....Cheers...!!!
...Finally...!!!
WHEW...!!! What a relief to have this finally fixed....for the last few days....I have been driving around with the alternator out of charging circuit; running straight off the battery, trying to use as few electrical draws as possible....ie. radio, fan, windows, heater...so as to keep the car running....the first night it happened (the battery light coming on), I drove a buddy home, and was lucky to make it home again....ABS & ASR lights came on, then an air bag fault as well....I managed to get to work the next day and put Piggy on the juice machine....
....there was no room available in the shop for me to leave my car for a couple of hours, or overnight even....busy season for breakdowns....at any rate, I had to get my old alternator over to Sam & Richard at ASI Auto Electric; so the pulley could be transferred to the new(er) unit....
.....which turned out to be a Valeo 120 Amp; not a Bosch make as I had previously stated....which makes these pics less than useful for reference...(sorry)...as the connections are identical, which is what I prefer....no adapting.........
....I managed to enlist the services of one of our Master Technicians.....a young Scotsman named Dave....had the old alt. out in about twenty minutes....didn't have to undo the clutch/fan....just threaded the lower bolt through an opening in the blades of the fan, to extract it enough, to remove the alternator.....I brought him the replacement unit to install....
...He had the job done before I got back from the licensing office (less than 20 min)....
....and my Piggy was purring...with no warning lights.....and some seemingly renewed life to my head lights....thanks once again to CazGLI and scotts13 for your advice and input....the rebuilt unit (with 30 more Amps) was $180 CDN, and Dave said he only charged me an hour (~ $70 w/taxes etc)....so back on the road again for about $250 all in...with no more worrying about WHEN the car leaves me stranded.....somewhere...this is not the season to mess about....being a Forum member has got me mobile for a moderate price....on all of You Gents' Sage Advice.......Cheers to the Vortex and Its' members...!!!
WHEW...!!! What a relief to have this finally fixed....for the last few days....I have been driving around with the alternator out of charging circuit; running straight off the battery, trying to use as few electrical draws as possible....ie. radio, fan, windows, heater...so as to keep the car running....the first night it happened (the battery light coming on), I drove a buddy home, and was lucky to make it home again....ABS & ASR lights came on, then an air bag fault as well....I managed to get to work the next day and put Piggy on the juice machine....
....there was no room available in the shop for me to leave my car for a couple of hours, or overnight even....busy season for breakdowns....at any rate, I had to get my old alternator over to Sam & Richard at ASI Auto Electric; so the pulley could be transferred to the new(er) unit....
.....which turned out to be a Valeo 120 Amp; not a Bosch make as I had previously stated....which makes these pics less than useful for reference...(sorry)...as the connections are identical, which is what I prefer....no adapting.........
....I managed to enlist the services of one of our Master Technicians.....a young Scotsman named Dave....had the old alt. out in about twenty minutes....didn't have to undo the clutch/fan....just threaded the lower bolt through an opening in the blades of the fan, to extract it enough, to remove the alternator.....I brought him the replacement unit to install....
...He had the job done before I got back from the licensing office (less than 20 min)....
....and my Piggy was purring...with no warning lights.....and some seemingly renewed life to my head lights....thanks once again to CazGLI and scotts13 for your advice and input....the rebuilt unit (with 30 more Amps) was $180 CDN, and Dave said he only charged me an hour (~ $70 w/taxes etc)....so back on the road again for about $250 all in...with no more worrying about WHEN the car leaves me stranded.....somewhere...this is not the season to mess about....being a Forum member has got me mobile for a moderate price....on all of You Gents' Sage Advice.......Cheers to the Vortex and Its' members...!!!
Joined
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7 Posts
I just did this two nights ago, also an AWM. Mine was original 90 A Valeo, and I replaced it with the same, but I have read another's experience and he upgraded to 120 A so it may be possible. As noted above, you can keep the front of the car attached, and follow the advice above for removing the air intake hose to the throttle body. I did have to remove the fan clutch pulley -- the bottom bolt is quite long and it will eventually hit the rad, that took 80% of the time. 8mm hex socket is required, don't waste your time like I did trying to use Allan key. The tricky part is finding something to lock the fan hub. There are two cutouts in the bracket that align with the holes in the hub. You stick something through there and in the cutouts to lock the hub. In may case the successful 'something' was a 4.5 mm allan key. 5mm won't fit and 4 mm just bends. I have read that a Craftsman 3/16 long drift will work as will but I could not find one. The deluxe solution is to buy/rent the proper clutch hub wrench for the front, if you can find a place that carries/rents one.
Also as noted above it is a very tight getting the alternator out and in. It will come, but I wasn't sure for a bit. You could remove the coolant hose there to make things easier. I left it in place and it took a while to figure out how to get it out. The sweet spot for me was to face the pulley toward the back of the car, and sort of 'engage' the coolant hose between the two mounting lugs, then kind of roll it up and out, while pushing hard against the coolant hose and using that as a pivot. By roll I don't mean on the alternator axis, but the axis of the coolant hose if you know what I mean.
Next time I could probably do the job in 30 minutes max.
Hope this helps.
OOPS: too late, as soon as I finished this you had posted your success!
EDIT: I stand corrected on the fan clutch removal -- there was 3 hours wasted.
P.S. That is a great price -- I paid $350 CDN for a 90 A unit, but that was brand new (only one I could get my hands on quickly).
RonC
Also as noted above it is a very tight getting the alternator out and in. It will come, but I wasn't sure for a bit. You could remove the coolant hose there to make things easier. I left it in place and it took a while to figure out how to get it out. The sweet spot for me was to face the pulley toward the back of the car, and sort of 'engage' the coolant hose between the two mounting lugs, then kind of roll it up and out, while pushing hard against the coolant hose and using that as a pivot. By roll I don't mean on the alternator axis, but the axis of the coolant hose if you know what I mean.
Next time I could probably do the job in 30 minutes max.
Hope this helps.
OOPS: too late, as soon as I finished this you had posted your success!
EDIT: I stand corrected on the fan clutch removal -- there was 3 hours wasted.
P.S. That is a great price -- I paid $350 CDN for a 90 A unit, but that was brand new (only one I could get my hands on quickly).
RonC
...Centre Punch Save...
I remember when I did the timing belt/water pump procedure in my driveway last October; that a You Tube video suggested using an Allen Key to rest in the notches...to hold the clutch fan in place, so the 8 mm Allen bolt can be removed....as you stated, the 4 mm key bends; the 5 mm won't fit....hmmmmm....I dug through a milk carton of old tools looking for an old centre punch that I recall seeing some time ago....it fit perfectly right here....
...but was a little too long to allow my ratchet any movement......so quick alteration with a Dremel tool and a cut off wheel..... and the show can go on....!!!
....needless to say, I keep this altered punch for this specific purpose....I lent it to Dave when he was removing/installing my alternator....he said it was perfect for the job...he just used it to keep the fan from rotating while he was working....thanks for your reply snowsyncro...!!!
P.S. Everything is working well now....headlamps are brighter too...though I did change bulbs about a month ago....
I remember when I did the timing belt/water pump procedure in my driveway last October; that a You Tube video suggested using an Allen Key to rest in the notches...to hold the clutch fan in place, so the 8 mm Allen bolt can be removed....as you stated, the 4 mm key bends; the 5 mm won't fit....hmmmmm....I dug through a milk carton of old tools looking for an old centre punch that I recall seeing some time ago....it fit perfectly right here....
...but was a little too long to allow my ratchet any movement......so quick alteration with a Dremel tool and a cut off wheel..... and the show can go on....!!!
....needless to say, I keep this altered punch for this specific purpose....I lent it to Dave when he was removing/installing my alternator....he said it was perfect for the job...he just used it to keep the fan from rotating while he was working....thanks for your reply snowsyncro...!!!
P.S. Everything is working well now....headlamps are brighter too...though I did change bulbs about a month ago....
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