TheSamba.com :: View topic - Dissecting the ignition switch electrical (wordy w/ pics)

Thu Oct 10, 2013 9:31 am

Joel wrote:

On all ignition switches I've got after 70 the terminal is S rather than SU and is positive when the key is in not ground.

I know that this thread is a few months old, but that is good to know. I have a 74 which I assume has a 74 switch and was confused about the wires to the switch. I believe the back of my switch has an "S".

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6870081&highlight=#6870081

Thu Oct 10, 2013 3:45 pm

According to all sources the 73 onwards cars with alternators all had the S wire which is positive with the key in.

Every 71-73 Aussie made bug I've pulled apart has been the same but apparentnly North American 71-73 generator cars have the negative output.

I think it is possible to reconfigure the switch so they can do either or.

There is a plastic cap inside the center of the ignition switch where the key barrel center pushes in and it depends where that is placed as to what the the buzzer wire output is.

On the top side it makes the buzzer contact ring (in the pic below) touch the center battery feed so its positive, the cap on the bottom isolates it from the battery feed and instead contacts it with the base of the key barrel so it grounds instead.

It's only a matter of using a meter or test light to find out which way it is.

Mon Dec 18, 2017 8:13 pm

Has anyone seen this set up? I expected to see slide terminals. Instead soldered connections.

Mon Dec 18, 2017 8:24 pm

A-Wild wrote:

Has anyone seen this set up? I expected to see slide terminals. Instead soldered connections.

What year is yours? Older have switch like that, to 1971 for sure, maybe 1972.

I'm from Pittsburgh myself, still reeling about what makes a touchdown a touchdown !!!

Mon Dec 18, 2017 8:36 pm

'71 was the last year that the wires were soldered to the bottom of the ignition switch. From '72-on they used male spades at the bottom of the switch and a multi wire female plug at the ends of the wires.

If one of your wires is black/yellow (X) then it is a '71 ignition switch. Prior to '71 there was no black/yellow wire coming from the ignition switch.

It looks like your ignition switch fell apart.

Mon Dec 18, 2017 9:13 pm

ashman40 wrote: '71 was the last year that the wires were soldered to the bottom of the ignition switch. From '72-on they used male spades at the bottom of the switch and a multi wire female plug at the ends of the wires.

If one of your wires is black/yellow (X) then it is a '71 ignition switch. Prior to '71 there was no black/yellow wire coming from the ignition switch.

It looks like your ignition switch fell apart.

Yeah it's a 71 Vert. I'm embarrassed to say how it " fell" apart but here I am. Not having much luck finding that piece on line. Any ideas?

Mon Dec 18, 2017 9:15 pm

Cusser wrote: A-Wild wrote: [img]https://www.thesamba

Has anyone seen this set up? I expected to see slide terminals. Instead soldered connections.

What year is yours? Older have switch like that, to 1971 for sure, maybe 1972.

I'm from Pittsburgh myself, still reeling about what makes a touchdown a touchdown !!!

It's a 71 Vert. Yeah not a great finish last night! I'm from Elizabeth originally.

Tue Dec 19, 2017 6:41 am

A-Wild wrote: Yeah it's a 71 Vert. ... Not having much luck finding that piece on line. Any ideas?
You need the entire ignition switch (electrical) along with the pigtail of wires.

http://www.wolfsburgwest.com/cart/DetailsList.cfm?ID=111905865F

An option that I was considering before I got rid of my Beetle.... using a '72 ignition switch:

And adding push on female spades to the ends of the existing wires. This save the trouble of running wires and makes use of a less expensive ignition switch ($13 vs. $35). You'll want to individually heat shrink tube the ends of the non-insulated crimp on terminals (you won't have the space to use the cheap insulated terminals). If you don't have access to these crimp on terminals then just go with the correct '71 ignition switch.

My suggestion is to add a HSR when installing an aftermarket ignition switch. This will extend the life of your new ignition switch.

Tue Dec 19, 2017 7:07 am

ashman40 wrote: A-Wild wrote: Yeah it's a 71 Vert. ... Not having much luck finding that piece on line. Any ideas?
You need the entire ignition switch (electrical) along with the pigtail of wires.

http://www.wolfsburgwest.com/cart/DetailsList.cfm?ID=111905865F

$35 from WW ? Get it !!!

I replaced this part on my own '71 convertible at least 2 decades ago. My recommendation is DON'T get lazy and just crimp the wires to the old wires under the dash !!! FEED the new wires through the grommet and attach to the original male terminals/connectors.

The 1971 part is a one-year for beetles.

Tue Dec 19, 2017 12:22 pm

FYI, I also found the '71 ignition switch on EIS Part's site for $29:
http://www.eisparts.com/111905865F.html

I think that is where I bought mine from years ago. I installed it w/o the HSR thinking it was new and would last decades like the original one... as mentioned at the start of this thread, it stopped working a couple years later. Cleaned up the internal contacts, added an HSR and it ran for many more years until I got rid of the car. It never failed to crank.

Go for the WW one and maybe you will get lucky. I do like the quality of WW parts. But I would STILL install a HSR. ;)

Tue Dec 19, 2017 12:27 pm

Try Rock Auto, I recently bought this style ignition switch and, although not a Bosch or Hella switch, it had a metal housing, not the plastic ones shown in the pics above. Quality was good too for about $35.

Wed Dec 20, 2017 3:27 pm

I have the later model switches in stock, 111905865F. They are NOS German.

http://www.vwnos.com/ignition-switch

Wed Dec 20, 2017 3:29 pm

Ashman,

Nice writeup. I don't throw away any of my used parts anymore. People figure out how to rebuild them eventually.

Wed Dec 20, 2017 7:45 pm

Cusser wrote:

I'm from Pittsburgh myself, still reeling about what makes a touchdown a touchdown !!!

I'm surprised those refs made it out alive

Wed Dec 20, 2017 9:37 pm

sb001 wrote: Cusser wrote:

I'm from Pittsburgh myself, still reeling about what makes a touchdown a touchdown !!!

I'm surprised those refs made it out alive

Apparently no coach or Steeler called for the timeout either. During the review. Steelers coaches were discussing that either it was touchdown or that ball might be on the 6-inch line and with 10 seconds run off, and were preparing Steelers for that. NO ONE foresaw that it would not be ruled a catch, when so may similar plays have been ruled touchdowns, Go to steelers.com to see the links and the explanations. I guarantee that if it had been Gronkus, would've been confirmed a touchdown in 15 seconds. All that time and announced "confirmed" as no catch, ridiculous..

SAD day for sports and for NFL, that's for sure.

Thu Dec 21, 2017 3:17 pm

Very good write up.
The Steelers call was textbook. They lost. Rule needs to change when breaking the plane but the refs technically got it correct.
I would suggest taking this to another thread but really, the NFL is less entertaining than this awesome write up.

Mon Jan 15, 2018 3:06 pm

Along with the NOS ones, I've new Chinese ones for $18. For the ones I have, there are some pieces you can use on them as replacement parts for your original. PM or email me and I can set you up.

Wed Feb 21, 2018 8:58 pm

I've seen a number of ads lately of folks selling the 111 905 865 F NOS switch for quite a bit of money. I want to point out that I've seen a number of these switches and all of the plastic housings crack from age. There is a spring that sits behind the housing which exerts pressure on the plastic and cracks it. I see them sold "as is" so they might not take them back.

I replace the plastic on the ones I sell so they come in good condition. If you decide to purchase a NOS switch do make sure you ask the seller if the housing is cracked.

Wed Feb 21, 2018 9:20 pm

Here's a picture of where they crack. They are repairable.

Thu Feb 22, 2018 9:23 am

The original style one could come loose at the crimps like this on my car

Cleaned and recrimped:

Working well for over a year now.