My issue was a bit different. I had a battery that wasn't getting enough power to recharge. After replacing the fuse box once, my research brought me to the same solution; the Alternator Harness starts to fail. I currently don't have a heat issue, but I do have a car that's over 17 years old issue and not wanting to stick hundreds of dollars into a fix. I purchased 10 feet of 6 gauge copper isolated wire from a hardware store (~$4.00). I also got two 6 gauge lug connectors (Gardner Bender GSLU-35) to connect to the wire. (~$3.00). The lug connector's hole that goes over the alternator post was just a hair to small, so I used a drill bit to widen the hole on the lug. Be careful here, the lugs are copper and soft metal, easy to drill, but easy to break as well. I took the nut off the alternator and placed one lug over the harness bolt. (Note: I left the harness connector on the harness bolt as well.) I tightened the nut over the lug with 6 gauge wire and harness connector on the alternator. There was plenty of threading on the post to have both. I now have two wires attached to the alternator, the old harness and my new 6 gauge wire. I then carefully ran the 6 gauge wire to the positive battery post terminal where the fuse box wire (red) screws down onto the post of the battery. I used wire ties to keep the wire clear of any hot engine areas and tried to follow the harness as best I could. I realize that the ideal connection would be where the harness wire attaches to the fuse box in the back, however that connection would be far harder to establish verses connecting it to the cable that attaches to the battery post. I'm not getting the benefit of the fuse this way, but my issue isn't fuses blowing, its not enough voltage getting to the battery to recharge it. I'll be monitoring it for heat or melting in the coming months and post if any issues arise. My Multi-meter shows low 14s when I check the posts or the cable connections with the engine running. I believe this will solve the problem for now. Time will tell.
I have the same exact issue on my 04 Jetta I wanna be neat and clean with it but I just can’t afford rn going to do the same thing when I get back from Florida just connect the alternator straight to the battery have no other liable option rn. Also having an engine code for po420 catalytic converter. Thinking of stright Piping I know it’s illeagle but I have a Montana license plate and I’m only going to college out in AZ not living there
Just-in Time The wire harness that connects the alternator to the box on top of the battery. It’s the thickest/lowest gauge cable. If memory serves its black insulated.
Joseph Stusse So far the issue has been resolved for me. Be careful if you wire the alternator cable to the battery. Be sure you’ve removed the other negative cable from the battery (easy to do). This reduces the chances of you getting zapped. As alway...I’m not suggesting anyone do what I did for obvious legal reasons. Just explaining what worked for me at a very affordable price.
GOD LOVE Just got a mk4 Golf 2.0....and You are Helping Me Tremendously!!! Dude THANK YOU!! Any more of these sneaky repair spots you know of please create a video!!?? Much Love.🙏💙💙🙏
What causes the fuse box on top of the battery to sometimes melt? A: Generally this is caused by a failing alternator cable. As it gets older it builds up resistance and requires more current to reach the same voltage. Google what is typically called the Big 3 wire upgrade and one of those main wires is the absurdly weak/cheap Alt to fuse box wire courtesy of VW. There's a lengthy DIY on redesigning/upgrading the entire fuse box and splitting it into 2 Power Distribution Blocks that while does require average skills and tools does provide peace of mind and a proper system that VW should have provided in the first place.
just replaced my alternator last year and I got the alternator workshop light on and battery light charged the battery last week and it stopped then it came on again yesterday so I will replace that fuse boyx and clean he connectors like you said. I ordered an alternator as well just incase but will clean the connectors and replace fuse box before replacing the alternator.
Hi. After you cleaned the wires did the black wire heat up again? Did you have an issue with the fuse box melting again? I've had the exact same problem. I have replaced the black wire with a thicker gauge wire and replaced the fuse box but the new box melted again. You can watch my video. Any ideas of what causes the black wire to heat and melt the fuse box?
Alejandro Gomez I have seen the starter over heating the alternator an causing that problem no I'm having problems with the lights an my clock keeps running an killing my battery
where did you get box from? I bought one from Amazon but the hex nuts are smaller than the original. and if you don't mind to share what cable was the hardest to remove from alternator.
hi, what gauge wire did you use for the black wire? And what length was it? Did you use a standard be replacement part? I noticed that one of my fuses was burned out, so probably need to do the same fix.
Sam Brown No you can't bypass it because that box is the Power Distribution Block. It distributes power from the alternator to the rest of the vehicle. The part is only $15- $20 these days. If this has melted before you need to check the alternator harness first. If that isn't the issue, look for a poor connection somewhere between that box and the alternator. Something is probably badly grounded or loosely connected, causing heat. The power distribution block basically just holds fuses and makes a connection from the alternator, to the red wires you see, and to the battery of course. You can build a better ( PDU )Power Distribution Unit with thicker metal terminals, Copper would be better than what VW has used. And just use the same size fuses. One more thing --sometimes the new box will come with different fuses... Check that they match your vehicle if you buy one.
tyler beard good info mine has started to melt get really and the heating is not working inside the car so i need to sort sum thing sooner rather than later
tyler beard was just trying to understand why at a pinch of thw car jist stops why you could not directly attach all cables to the + terminal of the battery bypassing all of them fuses
tyler beard i dont completely understand how its not shortting the cable all the time seeing theres a ground leak in the positive lead coming form the alternator leaning here 👍
I had the same problem my fuse box was melting and I changed it 3 times. I finally found out the issue This vid could help too ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-BhJ1uexkS2s.html
