Identifying loose electrical wire and greasy spots

[Bubusse]

Hi all,

I'm still a newbie though I'm trying to learn and keep on reading this site like it has become an addiction.
I've had the van for about a year (89 full westy, manual trans, original WBX rebuilt 70k ago, 218k on odometer now (btw, those are kms, I'm in Quebec)
Just woke up the van from a -not so long- winter, no problem starting it up. It saw its shadow which hopefully means winter is over...
Anyway, eventhough it's running well and has been since I've had it, I'm still trying to figure out many things. So here it comes, hopefully someone can help me.
First, I have a bunch of electrical wires, many colours, one of which is yellow and appears to be cut... what can it be, is it worth fixing and if so, where should it go ? (it's hard to explain with words, hopefully the pictures will be meaningful enough) :

Next one, left side of the engine, we've got two electrical connectors, yellow again (the one I hold and the one of top of the picture), they somehow look like they should maybe mate, but right now they're disconnected... any idea what their purpose would be ? Do they actually fit together ? If so is there any reason why a PO would have disconnected them ?


Now, on a different topic... Engine bay doesn't look so bad, but I've got grease or whatever fluid in the middle, somewhere under the dizzy, close to the T fuel junction... Where can it come from ? I touched it, smelled it, tasted it (OK, didn't go quite that far... but almost), couldn't tell what it was but grease... Should it be a concern ?


Now, last one, why would this cap be greasy as well while everything around it looks pretty clean ??


That's about it for now... well, my rear heater is leaking (how surprising !) but I'm taking care of it now... And yes, before you ask, fuel lines have been changed, so has the fuel tank...

Thanks in advance for your replies... Sorry if some of those questions sound silly... As I said, I'm a newbie with a lot to learn...

Greg (Bubusse)
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89 manual Vanagon GL Wesfalia

[ajdenette]

I will take a stab at what I believe the answers to your questions are for the three wires I would look at your idol air stabilizer it should be on top of the intake plenum. For the wires on the left side of the engine bay looking from the back I will respond with another question did your van come with AC and is the compressor still installed. for the oil on the top of the engine that has baked to that black sludge, I would look towards the breather tower the black pipe sticking up behind the alternator, either the O-ring needs to be replaced or the breather hose that runs from the tower to the intake has an issue, and it reminds me another possible thing those cut wires behind the alternator could be for the heater element in the hose running from the breather to the intake boot. The final questions about the power steering reservoir, there is a breather hole in the top of the cap that is why it is wet on the top of the reservoir but everything else in the area is dry.
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primary vehicle 1990 vanagon syncro L
also 1987 vanagon syncro gl
1966 beetle with sunroof
Fathers 1974 sunbug
Brothers burnt remains of a 1975 super convertible
Other brothers 1972 super autostick
Granfathers primary vw 1987 2wd Westy
project 1985 2wd Westy

[Bubusse]

Thanks for the reply, it gives me a few ideas of where to look at.
For your question on #2, no, the van has never had AC.
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89 manual Vanagon GL Wesfalia

[Perales]

Replace the O-ring on the breather tower. An easy job. And replace the breather hose while you are at it. That O-ring is hard and flattened.
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-- 1987 Westfalia automatic (Captain Vino)

[Bubusse]

Hi all,

Thanks again for the replies... Perales, as I see you're from Montreal, salut ! If you ever happen to drive through Rimouski, please contact me, I have plenty of land for you to camp on !
Back on the subject(s), for #1 (loose yellow wire), I think I've found the culprit, as there's a connector missing a wire on what I think is the ps pump, the other wire (redish) being connected to its other connector. Questions : am I right ? If so, considering power steering works fine, what's the purpose of those wires ? Should I be concerned ? Should I connect that yellow wire again ? (sorry for the blurry picture)

About #2, here's another picture. As I said, no AC on this van. AC is natural around here, it's called the St-Lawrence river Here's another picture, my finger shows that both wires come from that harness that goes all around the back of the engine bay, if that could help identifying their purpose... As said before, those two just look like they should mate... But maybe not ?

As for #3 (oil all over the place in the middle), thanks a lot for the diagnosis, it is now obvious to me the breather tower O ring is leaking. I have since read pretty much all what has been said about the breather tower and its crappy hose on this site, it was an interesting read... From what I saw, well, the breather tower itself is probably halfway broken (diaphragm) but it does it job anyway so you might as well leave it like this as anyway it's NLA ; the O ring always leaks (thanks Ben for being so straightforward in your explanations) and the OEM hose is a piece of shit that was meant to collapse on your way out of the VW dealer. I hadn't been searching much for oil leaks, as the van doesn't really lose any oil. Must have been slowly leaking for a long, long time... Will replace the O ring (though removing that breather won't be as easy as everyone seems to think it is, there are a couple of things in the way and the four bolts will probably not cooperate). The hose itself looks good, I've inspected it and it doesn't seem to be cracked or whatever... For sure it doesn't look like anything I've seen in the pictures on other threads... Must have been changed already by some PO... I will probably change it as well, as Perales suggested, while I'm at it...
As for #4, well it seems like a non-issue... I love those
Sorry for being verbose, thanks a lot again for those who reply... So to conclude, I'm still curious about #1 (yellow wire to the PS pump) and #2 (yellow wires on the left side of the engine bay)... I guess there's something about my van and yellow wires, huh ?

Greg (Bubusse)
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89 manual Vanagon GL Wesfalia

[Perales]

Removing the breather tower is not hard. Those are fuel lines in the way and two hose clamps should do it. Release the fuel pressure by loosening the small bolt in the T first. To remove the Tower nuts, clean them off first with Brake cleaner spray, then soak them for a while with PB Blaster. They should come off easy enough.
PM coming when I get a chance.
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-- 1987 Westfalia automatic (Captain Vino)

[Bubusse]

OK, I think I figured out #1 (yellow wire to the PS pump). The power steering switch purpose is to rev the idle a bit more when steering without moving to avoid stalling. My first car(s) didn't have power steering and I don't want to ruin my tires so I never do that anyway. It's nice to figure it out anyway.
So the only remaining one #2 (yellow wires on the left side of the engine bay)
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89 manual Vanagon GL Wesfalia