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Thu Jul 03, 2014 6:50 pm

I was previously having a problem on my 67 westy with turning the key off and the engine would continue to run so I purchased a new ignition switch that goes in the locking steering column figuring that was the problem. Well I installed the new ignition switch and it is doing the same thing it wont shut off. Another thing that was weird since it wouldn't shut off I had to pull the post off the battery and it still continued to run. How would it still run with battery disconnected that should shut the power off to the coil, so I had to pull the coil wire to distributor to shut it off. Please help Ive owned this bus 16 years and never had a problem till now and cant figure out why its not shutting off. I also notice that when I turn the key off the red generator light still remains light when the engine is still running

Thu Jul 03, 2014 7:43 pm

Your voltage regulator may have an issue. You are somehow getting charging current into the coil feed circuit. Is there any irregularity near or behind your fuse array? Does the charging light go out when the motor stops?

Have you moved wires around on the starter lately? Do you have the original brake light/turn signal/emergency flasher relay? Might it have a short inside or between two of the wires on top of it? '67 was a unique year for wiring on buses. Pull the big red wire off it and see if that stops the motor.

Thu Jul 03, 2014 8:15 pm

Agree that the problem is likely the VR. Your gen. light remains on which means you're getting a feedback of current from the wire from the VR to the light, to the connection in the ignition switch where it shares a terminal with the wire to the coil. As long as the coil remains hot, the engine will continue to run, and the generator will produce voltage even if you disconnect the battery strap. Check the operation of your voltage regulator.

Thu Jul 03, 2014 8:53 pm

OK ill take my regulator off my bug and try it and see if it works. I haven't touched any of the wires on starter, etc. Its all original unhacked 67 European westy it doesn't have hazard lights.

Thu Jul 03, 2014 10:05 pm

Going to sound funny, but I had dummy light go bad in my speedo and it caused the same problem.

Fri Jul 04, 2014 11:32 am

If it is the regulator, the motor should stop when you pull the wire to the indicator light off. It's the smallest gauge wire on the VR.

Sun Jul 06, 2014 6:30 am

vwpackrat wrote: I was previously having a problem on my 67 westy with turning the key off and the engine would continue to run so I purchased a new ignition switch that goes in the locking steering column figuring that was the problem. Well I installed the new ignition switch and it is doing the same thing it wont shut off. Another thing that was weird since it wouldn't shut off I had to pull the post off the battery and it still continued to run. How would it still run with battery disconnected that should shut the power off to the coil, so I had to pull the coil wire to distributor to shut it off. Please help Ive owned this bus 16 years and never had a problem till now and cant figure out why its not shutting off. I also notice that when I turn the key off the red generator light still remains light when the engine is still running

It is normal to keep running when you pull the neg cable off the battery. On a 66 & later bus. (not on the 1200/ earlier buses with small gen with regulator mounted on the gen) In fact, if you went to go buy a bus, and it has bad generator, you can just swap batteries from the bus you drove to go pick it up to the new bus, one to the other, leaving the engines running while you swap the battery from/to the bus with the good charging system, if you feel like it, to get home. If you didn't leave the bus running, you'd have to push start it, which would be awkward on lack of pavement in a rural area, if you felt like being lazy that is.

Not sure what is up with your bus though. Do share the solution.
Did you check your charging system? Does the gen light come on when you rev the engine and go out at idle? Do the idiot lights work?

Sun Jul 06, 2014 8:33 am

Check your wiring. I had this exact same issue on an older bus and it turned out it had a short and burnt a bunch of the wires about a foot in front of the starter. By the jumble of wires I had replaced, I'm surprised the bus didn't catch fire OR still ran.

Mon Jul 07, 2014 6:37 am

kingsfanrob............what exactly you mean by the you had a dummy light go bad in the speedo? I was out of town all weekend didnt mess with bus yet but Im gonna try the voltage regulator suggestions tonight see what happens. I think Ill try the suggestion of pulling the small wire off the regulator and see if it stops running.

Mon Jul 07, 2014 6:55 pm

Well I did as suggested with the key off and bus still running I unplugged the small wire to the VR and it shut off. I put an old VR I had in a box on and "so far" when I turn key off it shuts down....thx for all the input guys.

Mon Jul 07, 2014 7:50 pm

You can get new solid state Bosch voltage regulators, that plug right into existing wiring. I like them and they seem more durable too. I've installed many of these new voltage regulators and run one in my own '65 bus.

Tue Jul 08, 2014 6:19 am

Yes I have one of the newer solid state in my 62 vert. This is one of the old style regulators but just a temporary fix for now while trying to figure out what the problem was. I also ended up putting the 47 year old ignition switch back in the bus and removed the "new" one. That thing is junk and the key turn action inside is not smooth and free like the original one.