Bus Wiring Spagetti

[electronictofu]

At what point do you, or have you replaced your entire bus wiring harness?

http://www.wolfsburgwest.com/cart/DetailsList.cfm?ID=211971013H

I am down to the wiring and I can finally drive my bus for the first time. My wiring looks like hell. Who knows how many previous owners cut and spliced into different directions. The wiring itself is in ok shape just a mess and needs a lot of new connectors. I did replace the fuse box with one from WW.

Just getting it to start & charge is fairly simple isn't it? 10G wire from the alternator to the starter, starter wire up to the fuse box. Battery + and - Idiot wire on the alternator, and a couple wires from the fuse box to the IGN?

I forgot what a pain wiring can be...

[crofty]

Some are worse than others. Stay the course!

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Your Vanagon sucks, Stop waving at me.

[bro2539]

I am dealing with a new harness install now. the Turn signals are kicking my a$$.

[Eric&Barb]

From what you are showing in that image, would just clean up what you have and enjoy. Solder and heat shrink any place you need to add on wires. Solder the internal connections in the fuse box and headlight switch. Get the correct brass spade terminal connectors and crimp tool for them.
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In Stereo, Where Available!

[60vwnewengland]

[electronictofu]

[sled]

honestly, unless it is a completely unmolested original bus with perfect wiring, I always replace the entire harness. It is NOT hard to do and cane be done in a weekend easily.

there isn't much better than all nice new terminals and grounds.


that being said, I'm keeping the wiring in my 58 pg/sg because it looks like it did when it rolled off the factory floor.
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drive your split.

[RPGreg2600]

Looks fairly un-fucked to me. I wouldn't replace.

[electronictofu]

Yeah it's probably not as bad as I thought. New would be nice, new terminals, and not a bunch of splices all over. But I think once I clean this up and organize what's here, it'll probably look pretty good and function well. The new harnesses don't come complete with flashers and such do they? Just the main harness and connectors I'd imagine...

Any takers on what color the idiot wire is, that goes to the alternator?

[pyrOman]

[Eric&Barb]

Non-brass is great if you like junk that will cause problems all too soon down the road. Brass ones like the factory ones are the way to go. A cheapie crimper will only set you back $40.00, or about $200.00 for the really nice one.

Soldering/heat shrink or factory style of crimping make for a gas tight connection that keeps out oxygen and thusly corrosion.

There are two "Idiot Lights", so two different wires. Look at the wiring diagram previously posted for the C1 (regulator) and J2 (Oil sender) items for those wires.

Wiring connections to the fuse box are external. External = like your fingers and toes. Internal = your lungs, and stomach. You want to solder the internal ones.

Soldering info.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=598534&highlight=fuse+box+soldering

Crimping tool and terminals.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=338938&highlight=uninsulated+crimper
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In Stereo, Where Available!

[DadaCheese]

electronictofu,

I agree that yours doesn't look too bad... surprisingly, the simplicity and cost saving measures of VW having produced relatively inexpensive cars allowed for some things (such as the wiring system) to appear unfinished to our more modern ideals of car manufacturing.

To answer your question of when it is a good idea to replace the wiring, here's some factors which I think are good to consider;

Have you ever had a wire "burn up" while driving?
Do you tend to blow fuses a lot (sure; could just be a short, but wires that have aged may be the cause)?
Are there parts of your electrical system that currently don't work (horn, emergency flashers, etc)?
Have previous owners made a mess of your wires so that it is nearly impossible to tell what is what when using a wiring diagram because so many of the wires have been replaced, etc.?
Lastly, do you have the money and time to take on the project?

If, like me, you kind of like having "new" (but stock looking, or to stock standards) parts so that you don't have to worry about them failing you, this project can rejuvenate your bus.
It is a project you CAN do. Below is my link to when we did it, it contains a lot of helpful hints and such and can give you an idea of scope for the project.
Hope this helps.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=5288797&highlight=#5288797
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Dada as in dadaism.
Cheese as in the stuff I love to eat.

[electronictofu]

Awesome info, thanks for all the resources. Things are cleaning up fairly well so far.

Previous owner spliced on a different color wire here. Originally it's a black wire (now grey) sharing a harness with the blue/green wire (green and yellow at the tip but not original wire). I am thinking this is my other coil wire at terminal 15?

[Eric&Barb]

Yes, coil. Replace that positive battery cable. Preferably with WW one.
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In Stereo, Where Available!

[electronictofu]

Thanks for all the help everyone!

Brass spade connectors: I've been reading some posts and trying to convert sizes and figure out what will fit the bus fuse box for 14g and a couple 10g terminals. Anyone look on Amazon or know if these fit? I found a local VW shop that gave me a few, but alas... I need more

http://www.amazon.com/Brass-Crimp-Terminal-Female-...+connector

[electronictofu]

I saw a good old thread on these brass connectors but it seemed bug specific and I think the size is a little different. Anyone know a good source for them? I posted an Amazon link above, they also offer a few other sizes, not sure if they'd fit.

[Eric&Barb]

The 6.7mm = .26 (just a shade over .25 = 1/4") to 6.8 mm width size will work fine. Type 1 & 2 & 3 uses same size. You will need several wire sizes for repairs now or later, so get 10, 12, & 14 gauge. The one odd ball connector is the one used on later regulators that is so much wider.

At bottom of each of the wiring diagram web site pages here on thesamaba there is a link to the wiring gauge conversion chart. Each wire on each wiring diagram has a wire size listed in mm and with the conversion chart you can get an idea of what you will need.

Just remember that in gauge sizes the smaller the number the bigger the wire thickness.
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In Stereo, Where Available!

[ToolBox]

I have a box of hacked up harnesses that I have pulled from vehicles going to scrap. This allows me to repair a harness with the correct size and color wire. Makes later trouble shooting a breeze and the next owner is not pissed about hacked wiring.