Alternator/generator/regulator problems of the 2003 Volkswagen Beetle

Electrical main fuse box under hood burnt and melted into battery. See pics of burnt fuse box, and indention of melted battery. Car cut off while in motion on highway, causing my 19 year old college daughter to almost wreck in route to school last week at 8pm est. Her major is nursing. I want to make sure she's alive to see her graduate. Outside air temp was 65 degrees. This is extremely dangerous, not to mention the cost that will be associated with paying for volkswagons poor design electrical misengineering flaw, a new alternator, all electrical wiring, a new battery, and possibly new convertible top motor. Her vw is/was in mint condition with fewer than 80k miles. Vw estimates costs to fix over $5k to 6k. Kbb value is much less. My daughters life is priceless. Also, the wiring harness for the seatbelts underneath the seat are too short!! if you slide the seats back, it breaks electrical connections which triggers seatbelts light to come on, which disengages airbags to work in the event of an accident. The 2 front seats also must slide forward in order for back seat passengers to enter vehicle. Is this how vw saves money, by shortening electrical wire to connect seatbelts? perhaps it's on purpose to avoid millions of electrical lawsuits?.

Alternator gets extremely hot, untouchable. Appears to be direct short with heavy load. Melts fuse box on top of battery. Fire hazard. Online search for other events reveal that is common occurrence even resulting in class action suit but still vw will not admit fault. All volkswagon Beetles should be removed from the roads, it is a ticking time bomb. I was sitting in my car in my shop checking out systems and saw and smelled smoke coming from front of engine. Vehicle not safe to be on road with engine running. Please require grounding all these vehicles until vw does a permanent fix, even on the ones that have been repaired up until now.

Window needs new regulator. It is stuck halfway down. It is the drivers side rear window.

Alternator harness had to much resistance in it causing the fuse box to melt and frying the alternator. Dealer said it was a result of the wire being over crimpt during manufacturing.

Vehicle engine stopped while driving. Battery dead, no power in vehicle at all. Found melted battery fuse box under hood. Root cause determined to be corrosion on alternator power supply cable that created heat enough to melt plastic (~450f) and burn the protective cover off the alternator supply wire back 2 inches. Poor contact due to corrosion caused battery to drain, which eventually could no longer sustain engine ignition. No warning lights prior to engine stopping. No battery power also means no power steering, no power brakes, no airbags during collision. Online forums indicate this is happening to a lot of people. It would appear to be as deadly as the gm ignition switch issue, but it is not being taken seriously by vw.

First I had 4 warning lights come on. Battery, oil pressure, air bags, and brakes. Then the air conditioner compressor turned off. Then the car died in the middle of an intersection. I was almost hit by 3 cars. Finally got to the side of the road and opened hood. The fuse box on top of the battery melted along with the alternator wire to fuse box. Cost over $1000. 00 to fix. Vw dealer stated this is a known problem with this fuse box but no recall and to be prepared for it to happen again. I did some searching on the internet. . . . Wow. . . . This is really an issue with this fuse box. There was a civil suit filed by florida residents.

I have a 2003 vw Beetle turbo 1. 8. And the fuse block has burnt up 3 times now and there hasn't been a recall. I just had vw to do over $2000. 00 and have the recipts to prove it. They didn't fix the problem to begin with but says they did. The car has left my daughter stranded 3 different times. I hear that the alternator harness is faulty. . Read more...

All panel lights come on (abs, brake, battery, seatbelt, check engine), and the indicator continously sounds like the seatbelt is not locked. The right brakelight goes out when the lights are on. Alternator and battery were both checked and they were both really strong. Thinking this may be an electrical problem.

My vehicle's radio shut off, warning lights came on and vehicle powered down while driving. Could not even steer vehicle completely to shoulder of road. Police officer driving by stopped and chastised me for not moving my car completely out of traffic's way. Created a very hazardous traffic situation. Police officer had to direct traffic around my vehicle for the hour it took to get vehicle home. The battery was checked and was fine. No charge on alternator. A quick google search led to checking fuse box near battery. One fuse was completely melted/burnt as well as the alternator cable connection on vehicle. The google search made it seem as though this is a very common occurrence, yet no recall has been issued. From my assessment, the damage included the fuse-box assembly, one of the fuses, and alternator cable ring-terminal; however, multiple web forums suggest that fan assemblies and other components may need to be replaced as well, leading to costly repairs. It is my opinion that the issue can be attributed to manufacturer's faulty design. My internet search also revealed that a class action lawsuit was filled in florida, 2011, but I cannot find any further information on the matter.

This particular electrical problem with vw new Beetles has been reported in online vw forums hundreds of times. There is a small plastic fuse box that is attached at the top of the vehicle battery in the engine compartment. It contains a series of flat metal fuses of various amperage, and is electrically fed by a cable directly from the alternator. Once at the fuse box, the electricity is branched to other circuits by connection to a bus. But the main feed from the fuse box is to the battery by an auxiliary cable, branching out from the fuse box, connected by the alternator cable/flat fuse at one end (in the fuse box), and directly to the battery positive at the other end. The problem is that the entire fuse box assembly frequently melts into a glob of plastic, and represents a significant fire hazard. I have owned two new Beetles (2003 & 2004), and have experienced this problem four time between the two. My own investigation into the cause(s) has shown me that if the vehicle battery is discharged, and the alternator attempts to recharge the battery at a high rate, that once the electrical charge enters the fuse box via the alternator cable, the auxiliary cable is incapable of allowing the electricity to pass on through to the battery. The excess electrical build up is dissipated as heat, and the fuse box melts. It is analogous to bringing in water through a fire hose (the alternator cable), and then trying to funnel all of the water into a straw (the auxiliary cable). It won't fit. It appears that the auxiliary cable is of insufficient size and metal type to handle the electrical charge. In addition to the generic fire hazard, given the fuse box location, any leaking fumes (hydrogen) from the battery which come into contact with a fuse box spark/flame could cause the battery to explode. Please advise.