"2 Problems (at the moment!)

[jamesmerrix]

two problesm at the moment
1
the battery keeps on going flat, the alternator is working cause the lights work when the engine is running. when the engine is switched off and everything inside the car is off there is about 7volts between the +ve termial on the batt and the +ve lead. this can't be normal, is it? there is an imobiliser but this only has a tiny flashing LED. Any ideas?!?

2
when driving along, the steering wheel is pulling every which way, especially is i  am driving along bad, uneven surfaces. it is as though the front wheel are 'grabbing' at the white lines and high spots in the road. they are standard size (195/50 r15) and are both the same make (although they are pretty cheap ones: jupiter)
do golfs have a steering damper?

any help much apreciated, sorry for the long question
james merrix

[Blue MK2]

But before you change the batt. Park up to a wall at night, put the lights on full and rev your engine. If the light brightens then your alternator is doing its job.

Ive got some top quality tyres on my car but ive noticed the same thing since ive changed to a stiffer suspension setup.

Bushes maybe?  

[Dizzie]

problem 1 sounds like a decaying earth strap. They're only ?2 to replace and will make everything electrical work better trust me. it's worth replacing it just to eliminate it from probable cause.

Where are you taking the voltage reading from? If you take a reading from the actual battery and it's low then the battery needs replacing. If you take one from inside the car like off the stereo loom then it's something else.

If you smell rotten eggs under the bonnet your alternator is cooking your battery. (I had that one)

Are your wheels balanced and the correct pressure? I've driven before when one was down to 10 psi and the handling was really sloppy. Could be the bushes on the steering rack if you can't keep it in a straight line. There was an article in the golf a couple months back if you fancy the job yourself.

I hate to say this but budget tyres can make the handling a bit off. once you try branded tyres (blantant pimp coming) like Yokies A539's you'll never go back.

Hope it helps

[jamesmerrix]

right, after a bit of investigation i am still none the wiser, although i have managed to find the wire that is drawing the current. the voltage readings are taken between the +ve terminal on the battery and the +ve end of the red wire that runs, with others, along the bulkhead and, i assume, into the cabin, probabaly to the ignition siwtches. thats about as far as i have got and i do not know where to go fom here. Is there anything that often causes earth leakages like this? i am stuck as to where to go now. i have tried removing all of the fuses one by one by no luck!
james

[golfvr6]

As for problem no.2
check your wishbone bushes for excessive play.

[tinman]

1. battery is screwed. borrow a battery and see if the car is okay.

2. no idea.

Tin

[gibson]

About 2 weeks ago, I was trying (and failing miserably...) to race a new type-R in my 8 valver 1.8 gti. Was doing roughly 100/110 along the dual carriageway trying to keep up with this guy when i realised my turn off was approaching pretty sharpish.. As it was a right turn, I slammed on the brakes and tried to turn into the box thingy you pull into before going across the oncoming traffics lane.. Anyway my back driverside wheel caught the curb (what fecking idiot built a curb there??) and i ended up doing a 720ish turn back over the two lanes of the carriageway and slamming into the curb on the other side (damn curbs).... After realising i was still alive, I took a couple of minutes to stop the shaking feeling i had off cheatig death and drove on at a slower pace.
 I then noticed my steering was the same as you describe and was quite worried about this. If i put my foot down it would pull from left to right and everywhere else it could pull to.. As i started to sh!t my pants everytime i drove the car I decided to pop to my girlfriends dad's garage and get it checked out. Because of hitting the curb I had twisted/bent the steering rack and had to have it replaced costing a small fortune (well not that much).

The point of my story is that you could have a problem with the steering rack, You probably don't have but I hope you enjoyed reading about my near death experience. I dont race civic's anymore - Well not Type R's....  

[Dizzie]

but TypeR's are the only ones that can keep up