I had the same thing happen on my '84 earlier this year.  The brushes on the
voltage regulator were toast.  Found replacement at the local Advance Auto
Parts for about $35.  Drove home on the battery and fixed it in the
driveway.

John Lauterbach
Macon, GA
'84 DL

----- Original Message -----
From: "Richard Golen" <rgolen@umassd.edu>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Wednesday, August 23, 2000 8:11 PM
Subject: Just as I pulled in the driveway, the Alternator light came on....

> Hi All,
>
> I just got home from our trip to Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Maine....I
> stopped for gas about a mile from home....started it up and the alternator
> light stayed on very dimly. So I turned on the lights and heater fan,
> blipped the throttle ( the same thing happened to my 86 GTI years ago),
and
> the alt. light went out.
>
> Later on I went to the store and the light came on brighter, and it took a
> little more than blipping the throttle to make it go away.
>
> Now, my memory of what was wrong with my GTI's alternator is all but
faded,
> so I'm posing the question to the group...
>
> Is my problem:
>         a. Bad voltage regulator
>         b. bad brushes
>         c. bad diodes
>         d. nothing that a piece of black tape over the alternator light
can't fix.
>
> Thanks in advance...
>
> Ric