TheSamba.com :: View topic

Tue Sep 01, 2009 7:07 pm

Is that clear enough???

You want proof? You want to know why?

I will only tell you that this stupid part cost me a lot this year, not counting all the customers that where stranded somewhere because of a 20$ parts.

So get 20$, read that:
http://www.benplace.com/dash.htm

And change that stupid part! Stop saying mine is fine and listen to guys like me who work on those van 50 hours a week.

So what does it take to convince you? An electric fire????

I'm not kidding here.

Ben

Tue Sep 01, 2009 7:20 pm

I've been thinking that would be good preventative maintenance and now you've pushed me over the edge. It will get done.

Thanks. :D

Tue Sep 01, 2009 7:23 pm

what happens to the switch as it ages? corrosion or wear and tear causes short circuits that can lead to fire?

Tue Sep 01, 2009 8:17 pm

I did mine about a year ago, lock cyl and switch (overkill, i know) to try and remedy a random no-start thing happening...didnt fix it :oops: , turns out the starter had gone to hell.

Oh well, the switch was pretty far gone anyway. An ounce of prevention as they say.

Tue Sep 01, 2009 9:35 pm

Don't know how it causes fire, but I had mine try to strand me several times. Good news is if you've got two short pieces of wire, it's a piece of cake to do an emergency repair (what I had to do). If you just pull the wiring bit out of the back of the switch, connect the fat red wires (I think one is striped), then jump that to the other hole that does the starter (just guess & check). You of course need to have the key to unlock the steering wheel...
Having put that info up here, it is super easy to replace the switch.

Tue Sep 01, 2009 11:18 pm

Mine's fine. :D

Wed Sep 02, 2009 12:35 am

BTW that mounting screw that Benny points to with his red arrow, should be good and tight. I always put blue lock tite on the threads. This can work itself loose and be quite an irritant. I've gone in there thinking the switch had to be replaced, and it turned out to be loosely mounted....just an FYI

Wed Sep 02, 2009 7:28 am

I really wish that VW had put the mounting screw accessible without removing the whole ignition lock assembly. If they had put the screw on the outside of the assembly, it would be 1/20th of the work to swap out.

Andrew

Wed Sep 02, 2009 1:30 pm

And 1/20th the effort to steal the van after you get in!! I dont mindthe work that makesit harder for some one else.

Sat Oct 17, 2009 11:41 am

dobryan wrote: I've been thinking that would be good preventative maintenance and now you've pushed me over the edge. It will get done.

Thanks. :D

Got it done today.

Thanks! :D

Sat Oct 17, 2009 11:43 am

ajdenette wrote: And 1/20th the effort to steal the van after you get in!! I dont mindthe work that makesit harder for some one else.

Actually that switch isn't needed at all to steal the bus. Just take off the harness plug from the bottom of the switch and then jump the right terminals. Takes 30 seconds. Only problem would be the steering wheel lock, but that can be defeated as well.

Sat Oct 17, 2009 4:52 pm

thats why i roll with a big old steering wheel lock that goes over the whole thing. i think it offers better protection than a alarm in some ways.

Sat Oct 17, 2009 9:23 pm

errolprowse wrote: thats why i roll with a big old steering wheel lock that goes over the whole thing. i think it offers better protection than a alarm in some ways.

And I have a fuel pump relay that is activated by a regular switch on the dash panel. If you don't know which one to turn on it won't start. Hidden in plain sight. :lol:

Sat Oct 17, 2009 11:23 pm

Details please!

Stephen

.

Sun Oct 18, 2009 1:30 pm

The wierd thing is, I read this yesterday during my morning coffee, then about an hour later the wife and I jump in the van to go for a hike. We made it about a block and lo-and-behold, the wipers won't work- nor will the lowbeams- nor the heater fan.

We turned around, I pulled the ignition plug, hotwired it, and everything came back. Crazy timing! If I hadn't read this post that morning, I probably would have spent hours trying to figure out what happened. Then again, maybe if I hadn't read this post, the switch wouldn't have failed!!

All of these have worked fine for years. It's as if reading this post was all that it took to kill the ignition switch! Spooky!

Thanks Ben, but I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't do that long-distance Canadian voodoo again! :wink:

Sun Oct 18, 2009 5:00 pm

Vsyevolod wrote: Details please!

Stephen
.

I use a fog light switch to activate a relay that connects the ground wire for the fuel pump. With the fog light switch in the 'ON' position the relay is active and the ground circuit is complete. In the 'OFF' position the relay breaks the ground connection. How many people will turn on the fog light switch prior to trying to start a car? :D

Sun Nov 01, 2009 7:12 pm

I'm starting the "I hate Ben" post.
Damn it Ben, your always right!
Changing the switch was a pain in the ass, but it would have been a bigger pain in the ass without the link to your page showing all the steps to take to get to the switch since the Bently didn't really show anyone what was involved.
Perhaps I will add 10c and Dogpilot, and Kevin and a few more of you that always help me when I've got a problem (and everyone else here) to the post.
Seriously, thank you all - you've been a great help and it's appreciated.
DC

Mon Nov 02, 2009 6:14 am

DWC wrote: I'm starting the "I hate Ben" post.
Damn it Ben, your always right!
Changing the switch was a pain in the ass, but it would have been a bigger pain in the ass without the link to your page showing all the steps to take to get to the switch since the Bently didn't really show anyone what was involved.
Perhaps I will add 10c and Dogpilot, and Kevin and a few more of you that always help me when I've got a problem (and everyone else here) to the post.
Seriously, thank you all - you've been a great help and it's appreciated.
DC

No need to start such a thread, i have plenty of enemies. 30% like to argue with me, i have learned how to deal with them.

When you do that once, and only once:

You learn about everything, no way out.

I choose to share, that is my problem.

Mon Nov 02, 2009 6:30 am

Ben,

Sharing is not a problem, it is a gift. The problem is when a small amount of people want to argue about what is being shared. But you already know this.....

Always live your life by sharing.

All the best.....

Mon Nov 02, 2009 9:05 am

Thanks a million for the help, Ben. Due to your clear photo tutorial, it took me about 30 minutes to change my ignition switch instead of probably a couple hours of head scratching. Great stuff.