Official Mexican / Brazilian Beetles - All years

[Gerrelt]

Nice work Hopkin, that looks factory!


Yesterday I was working on my beetle, and I wanted to connect a third brake light.
I wanted to connect it to the wiring that goes from the taillight to the wiring of the car.
I was surprised to find a fuse in the wire that powers the rear taillight (not the brake light):

And it's even a 25 amp fuse :

This must be some kind of mod by the previous owner, right?
Why he did it, I don't know. The taillight is perfectly fused with a 8 amp fuse in the standard wiring...
And with that 25 amp fuse, the standard 8 amp fuse will go sooner than the 25 amp fuse.
I don't find any logic behind this reasoning...

I think I am going to remove it and join the wires together again.
_________________
homepage
_________________

[GArBa]

maybe a PO removed a damaged section from the wire and that inline fuse holder was the only thing he had to repair it.

I can think of at least one mexican beetle owner on this board who performed a similar repair.
_________________
cars:
'97 type 1 1600i
'14 type AA Seat Mii (sadly dead after 270.000 km)
'22 type C1 T-Cross
'23 type AC3 Hyundai I10 (VW no longer makes small cars!)
-------------------------
moped:
'82 Benelli Magnum 3v

[hopkin]

[GArBa]

yellow should be 5A.

edit: just checked a pic of my engine compartment, it looks like I have the same fuse holder. Now I'm curious to know what fuse I'm going to find in there.
_________________
cars:
'97 type 1 1600i
'14 type AA Seat Mii (sadly dead after 270.000 km)
'22 type C1 T-Cross
'23 type AC3 Hyundai I10 (VW no longer makes small cars!)
-------------------------
moped:
'82 Benelli Magnum 3v

[Gerrelt]

Actually a 5A fuse might make sense. That fuse will blow earlier then the on board 8 amp fuse.

I am wondering if this is some kind of German regulation thing. That the rear lights have to have their own dedicated fuse.
Normally the city-driving lights share the 8 amp fuse with the right taillight.

Maybe this is one of the modifications done by the German company that imported these beetles.
I wonder if the left taillight also has this fuse.

@GArBa: is your beetle imported directly to Italy, or was it first imported to Germany too, just like mine and Hopkin's beetle?
_________________
homepage
_________________

[GArBa]

Through germany. My bug was imported by the same company as hopkin's.
_________________
cars:
'97 type 1 1600i
'14 type AA Seat Mii (sadly dead after 270.000 km)
'22 type C1 T-Cross
'23 type AC3 Hyundai I10 (VW no longer makes small cars!)
-------------------------
moped:
'82 Benelli Magnum 3v

[hopkin]

[Gerrelt]

OK, then this must be a mod the import company had to do to make these beetles legal in Germany.
I might ask this question on 1600i.de too.

I think I am going to remove it. The fuse holder is all rusty inside, and the rear taillight sometimes works, and sometimes not...
_________________
homepage
_________________

[hopkin]

[Gerrelt]

[hopkin]

Antonio confirmed that these are not stock, he says that the fuse holders look like a 'European importer upgrade' and that they are not necessary.

I'd still double check the fusing, (just pull a front fuse and turn on the lights), and then remove the fuse holder if it's not necessary and causing problems.
_________________
1971 Super Beetle (past)
1971 Super Beetle (past)
1974 SunBug (past)
1972 914 (past)
1991 Honda Civic (Original Owner)
1996 'Open Air' Mexican Beetle (current)
2015 Golf (past)
2017 Dune Edition (daughter's car)

[Gerrelt]

Ah, great! Thanks for asking Antonio.

I've just asked the question to the people at 1600i.de too.
In my "best" German...
_________________
homepage
_________________

[GArBa]

checked my bug tonight. on mine the hoders are the same as the one used for the yellow wire taking power from the headlights' switch for the rear fog lamp. each has a 8A fuse, same ceramic-core units as used in the main fuse box.

edit: re-checked the fuse assignment on the manual. the german manual leaves the left rear light alone on fuse 1, moving the front position lights on 2. I don't think it's actually like this on the car, but maybe this means that at least one rear ligth must have its own dedicated fuse for whatever regulation.

(edit 2: checked a pic of the back of my fuse box, maybe I'm on something now: it's a bit messy but I see that #1 covers the left position lights, front and rear, #2 the right position lights, front and rear. this arrangement is the same as depicted in the VW wiring diagram; it differs from what it's stated on both the german and the mexican manuals, but at this point I don't think they are a valid reference. with the fuses at the tail light, a short there would not theoretically affect the front lights... but a short at the front would still render a whole side inoperative... )
_________________
cars:
'97 type 1 1600i
'14 type AA Seat Mii (sadly dead after 270.000 km)
'22 type C1 T-Cross
'23 type AC3 Hyundai I10 (VW no longer makes small cars!)
-------------------------
moped:
'82 Benelli Magnum 3v

[hopkin]

I have the same fuse holder for my rear fog light:

Here's a scan of the page from the German Owner's manual that shows the fuses. This is the manual that came with my car, not a VW publication but one printed for the 'Open Air'. It is based on the Mexican manual but shows the rear fog light and roof switch, so it may have been altered to show other differences between the stock Mexican car and the imported one.

Gerrelt and I both have the same manual. I don't know if this is the same German manual that you have.

Maybe this fuse layout is the same as your German manual or maybe not. I don't know, I can't read German

The running lights (second filament) on the front bumper are disconnected on my car. I think it was done as part of the mod when the car went to the UK. I believe that in the UK you cannot have front amber running lights.

It looks like all they did was cut the wires, I'm going to have a closer look.

I scanned and uploaded a copy of the manual to Samba a while back, the full manual can be found here:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/manuals/1996_beetle_mexico_german.php
_________________
1971 Super Beetle (past)
1971 Super Beetle (past)
1974 SunBug (past)
1972 914 (past)
1991 Honda Civic (Original Owner)
1996 'Open Air' Mexican Beetle (current)
2015 Golf (past)
2017 Dune Edition (daughter's car)

[GArBa]

I have the exact same manual, it was supplied by the importer regardless of the presence of the sunroof. The wiring on the car however seems to contradict the manual - it's quite easy to read it word-by-word, on the page you scanned I read:

1- Left tail light ( should have also front left running light)
2- Right tail light, running light ( should have front right running light), license plate light, rear fog light, front fog lights (relay activation current)
3- Left low beam
4- Right low beam
5- Left high beam
5- Left high beam (repeated 2 times... )
6- Right high beam, high beam warning light
7- Electroninc ignition and injection
8- Interior light and sunroof
9- Warning lights
10- Wipers, headlight washer ( probably they mean windsheld washer), fresh air fan, rear defroster
11- Brake lights, horn
12- Turn signals, fuel gauge (listed as optional ), alt warning light, oil warning light, turn signal warning light and brakes warning light

as you can see the list does have some issues...

Re the running lights in the bumper, they were swapped in a rather crude way: the twin-filament bulb stayed in its place, power wires cut at the connector in the spare wheel well, headlights' reflectors were drilled and a T4W holder placed in them and connected to the original running lights connector with a short red wire.
_________________
cars:
'97 type 1 1600i
'14 type AA Seat Mii (sadly dead after 270.000 km)
'22 type C1 T-Cross
'23 type AC3 Hyundai I10 (VW no longer makes small cars!)
-------------------------
moped:
'82 Benelli Magnum 3v

[Gerrelt]

I just got confirmation on the 1600i.de forum that it is indeed a German regulation mod, done by the import company.
See:
http://forum.1600i.de/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1366

[GArBa]

also the fuse rating is not spot on. I think it changed between 95/98, because on mine just the warning lights fuse is 16A, All the others are 8A. and of course the 25A on #8 is only needed on sunroof equipped cars.
_________________
cars:
'97 type 1 1600i
'14 type AA Seat Mii (sadly dead after 270.000 km)
'22 type C1 T-Cross
'23 type AC3 Hyundai I10 (VW no longer makes small cars!)
-------------------------
moped:
'82 Benelli Magnum 3v

[hopkin]

Here's another page showing the fuse panel from another German importer's owner's manual. This one is from OMNICAR dated 2003:

I don't know if there is anything different here (from the one I posted earlier).
_________________
1971 Super Beetle (past)
1971 Super Beetle (past)
1974 SunBug (past)
1972 914 (past)
1991 Honda Civic (Original Owner)
1996 'Open Air' Mexican Beetle (current)
2015 Golf (past)
2017 Dune Edition (daughter's car)

[GArBa]

just small differences. for sure it was made with more attention than the "open air" manual. they also mention the fuel pump fuse and some optional ones (e.g. the 10A for the fog light; I use a 8A for the rear fog lamp, I'm sure they list a 10A because blade fuses don't come as 8A)
_________________
cars:
'97 type 1 1600i
'14 type AA Seat Mii (sadly dead after 270.000 km)
'22 type C1 T-Cross
'23 type AC3 Hyundai I10 (VW no longer makes small cars!)
-------------------------
moped:
'82 Benelli Magnum 3v

[Bruce]