Help! Engine Experts please advice!!

[vwspijlbus]

Hi,

In my 1967 splitbus with a 1600 cc engine I encountered multiple mayor engine failures:

Today I drove 120 kilometers to a VW show (keverwinterfestijn, I just added 12 pictures in the "VW Swap Meet/Group show photos" gallery): No problems.
On the way back home I was forced to stop 5 times besides the hiway.
While driving 90 kilometers/hour the red light on the dashborg lights, engine dies, turn signals do not work and no power on the "startonderbreker" (thats an anitie-theft meganism). Usuall lights worked. After a few minutes power was back (whitout any repars done) and I could contine. Some part for 1/2 mile, some parts 20 miles.

I had enough fuel, I (gues) no batery problems (since the first 140 km were without a problem). In the engine compartment I do not see anythin odd, No stange smels, The running engine sound healty. 1 guy stopped to help: he was sure I was not a dynamo issue. He based this on the light behavior when starting the engine with the lights on.

Please advice on what to check, I was in several unsafe situation today..!
_________________
Frank
1967 Dutch SO-42
www.vwspijlbus.blogspot.com

[rusbus]

I would check the following two items first:

1) See if you have a short.

To test:

Turn off the key, and all accessories (lights, stereo, whatever) so that there should not be any current coming from the battery (no closed circuits...) Then disconnect the battery earth (ground) terminal, and touch the end of the battery cable to the terminal on the battery about 10 times or so. You should not see any sparks. If you do, you know one circuit is shorted. If you have a short, you can track it down, by removing one fuse at a time, and doing the battery cable test again, until it goes away, then you will know the short is on that circuit.

2) If you do not have any shorts, try this experiment:

get a jumper wire (one 30cm wire with alligator clips on each end.)

clip one end to the positive terminal on the battery or voltage regular, so it has juice. Then clip the other end to where the hot wire goes to the coil. So you'll know your coil is definitely getting juice. Take the bus for a drive, and if that fixed it, then you know there is a problem with the wiring to the coil.

[Eric&Barb]

Hi vwspijlbus,
Check ALL the wiring at the fuse box and work through to all the systems for clean of corrosion & tight connections. Use a volt/ohm meter to check the voltage at the battery terminals and then throughout the electrical system. Wear safety glasses or better yet a face shield whenever you create sparks over the battery!! Any voltage drop of more than .3 volts should be fixed. Have you soldered the brass clips in each socket in the fuse box together? Also a good idea to seek the type2.com library for the headlight switch soldering to prevent loose connections in that switch.
Eric&Barb

[VWBobby]

Sounds like a short to me also or an intermitant connection (loose wire). I would make sure that the battery isn't shifting around in back. Make sure the grounds are clean and tight, battery cables tight, etc. Its strange that the power comes back when the bus sits for a while. Usually if the engine is overheating, it will make the starter not work as well....making the bus REALLY hard to start (barely turning). Since the starter still turns over the engine with the lights on, then thats can't be a weak battery or generator problem....

[ToolBox]

On my 59 the ignition switch had a bad electrical portion(dirty contact-high resistance) and would intermittenly fail causing the vehicle to lose electrical power.

[vwspijlbus]

Many thanks for your co-operative thinking and advices so far!!!!!
I will have a look tonight if this can solve my problem.

An irritating issue is the fact that I cannot immediatly say ifi t is solved: the last 15 miles yesterday were smoothly.

Anybody with new idea's on this engine issue who reads this post: All input is more then welcome.
_________________
Frank
1967 Dutch SO-42
www.vwspijlbus.blogspot.com

[VWBobby]

Its not an Engine issue...its an Electrical problem. I would follow Toolbox's suggestion of checking the ignition switch....that is very likely to solve your problem. Try to wiggle the key with the engine running, wiggle the wires and terminals in the switch, etc. If you can get the engine to die/missfire or if you see your headlights flickering while you're doing this...that would be your problem.

[vwspijlbus]

Let's say the ignition switch is root cause.
Should it then be replaced or can ik be cleaned by scratching with sand-paper and using contact spray?
_________________
Frank
1967 Dutch SO-42
www.vwspijlbus.blogspot.com

[VWBobby]

[ToolBox]

[vwcalbug]

check the wiring of the distributor, i had similar problems with my bug just dying, then a while later, starting again. The distributor was hooked up wrong, so it wouldn't get a full spark.-JustinD

[vwspijlbus]

What I did so far yesterday evening (I only had only little time):

- Removed all fuses and sprayed the contacts with contact spray.
- Started engine and wiggled the contact-key: this did not caused any engine/power failures.
- Cleaned the contacts of the voltage devider.

VWCalBug: how can I tell if the distributer is wrong connected?

I was adviced to have a check done on the batery.
_________________
Frank
1967 Dutch SO-42
www.vwspijlbus.blogspot.com

[vwspijlbus]

Finaly I managed to find the shortcut location.
Behind the spedometer there's a mess of cable's when i wiggle my hand in there I lose power, when I wiggle again the power returns.
So is is for sure no battery problem.

I looks like I have to remove the part of the dashbord that contains the speedometer to habe decent access/look to see/fix the cables.

Update:
The actual status of the dashbord can be seen on vwspijlbus.blogspot.com
The cable/connection that caused this is not traced yet. Since it was freezing in my unheated garage I could not search for hours and hours.
_________________
Frank
1967 Dutch SO-42
www.vwspijlbus.blogspot.com

[Stanagon]

Make sure you have a good wiring (schematic) diagram for the bus. They are available here in the "Technical" section.

Start by removing the negative (ground (-) or earth) battery cable. Don't do anything until you do this first!

Then remove the parcel tray under the dash. It's held in with three screws as I recall. You also may need to disconnect the speedometer cable to get the parcel tray out completely. Once the parcel tray is out you can loosen the two mounting screws behind the speedometer and turn it slightly to remove it. Carefully pull the speedometer out a little bit and see if you can figure out what connections are loose.

You should be able to solve it. Good luck!

[Buckly]

My guess its the main wire to the light switch. Your just wiggling it with the rest of the wires. You can proably solve this with out removing the tray and speedo.
_________________
Cool runnins,
_______________________
Bucky

[vwspijlbus]

Fixed!!!

Buckly: you were right.

One of the connectors of the lightswitch made contact with the chasis: this was the cause of the short. All "bad" cable connections are now fixed since I removed the dashtray anyway.

I can ride my splitbus again!
_________________
Frank
1967 Dutch SO-42
www.vwspijlbus.blogspot.com

[Bongo]

Man, you must have extremely bow legs!

[Buckly]

I've stuck my hand under there and got sparks enough times. I had to go through and make sure all my connection were secure some time back. Nothing like stabbing in the dark. Im glad the old beast will roll again.
_________________
Cool runnins,
_______________________
Bucky

[vwspijlbus]

bow legs?
_________________
Frank
1967 Dutch SO-42
www.vwspijlbus.blogspot.com

[Buckly]

you know to get them over the roof.
What time is it in the Netherlands.
_________________
Cool runnins,
_______________________
Bucky