TheSamba.com :: View topic

Tue Jul 28, 2015 4:24 pm

Do most of you guys use the wiring that came on the VW Beetle or buy a new one? I would like to have new as mine is kinda rough looking.

Tue Jul 28, 2015 4:45 pm

we do custom looms in all our buggies as it is the only way to know exactly what you get and be able to stand behind it with a warranty. A few guys are using those ebay ones and seem happy so that might be a good option if your doing your own buggy.

Tue Jul 28, 2015 4:53 pm

Beware of the "Bag-O-Wires" ($50) kits... Full harness from Iguana or maybe Rebel wire kit or Painless wire kit or American Auto Wire or Ron Frances or Watsons Street Works and there are a few more that the names escape me right now (damn old age).... I personally bough all my wire in bulk from wholesaler and did my own, but I have years of experience...

Personally If I were to do it again, getting kit with all wires labeled and all needed connectors supplier AND INSTRUCTIONS is the way to go...

Resource link started a long time ago so some of the resources may be defunct...

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=344781

On of the best things you can do if you are going to DIY wiring is get a really good pair of ratcheting crimpers (with changable dies) and learn to do a proper crimp connection.. The $7.00 crimpers from FLAPS are the worst tool you can get for wiring... You would probably do better by smashing connector with a rock to crimp it...

Dale

Tue Jul 28, 2015 5:08 pm

Iguana mentioned this one

http://www.ebay.com/itm/VW-Dune-buggy-Wiring-harne...1585454353

Tue Jul 28, 2015 7:46 pm

Like to hear comments from anyone that used the ebay harness.

Tue Jul 28, 2015 8:37 pm

I went with a Rebel wiring harness and it is awesome! High quality and budget friendly... there is even a thread in this forum that deals with questions and troubleshooting and a guy that works at Rebel frequently answers. Good wire and each one is labeled every 6 inches or a foot (can't remember). It comes in the box separated for front end and rear end/engine and is made for VW's. If you do a search for Rebel wiring harness you'll see they're highly recommended. Rebelwire.com glass bodied buggies use the regular bug harness.

Tue Jul 28, 2015 11:23 pm

Dale M. wrote:

You would probably do better by smashing connector with a rock to crimp it...

Dale HAHA love that!

Wed Jul 29, 2015 5:01 am

Mike, I bought one from the fellow on Ebay, but haven't used it yet. Clean, color coded, every tail marked, no raw ends, tightly wrapped..

If I remember, he has different patterns/looms for different brand buggies. 'Not being an expert' - there appears to be nothing not to like.

I took Dale's advice and bought ratcheting crimpers. Looking back every pair before them were Chit. (thanks Dale)

Jim

Wed Jul 29, 2015 6:25 am

Wetstuff, I would be interested in how that harness is grounded. Its tough to tell from the picture.

Wed Jul 29, 2015 7:16 am

This is what his ad says about grounds

Your new harness will include all necessary GROUND leads for a fiberglass body on a VW TYPE 1 chopped pan!
Your new harness will include a license plate light lead with ground!
Your new harness will include fuel gauge and sending unit leads with ground. (Electric fuel gauge)

So he provides the leads with pre-crimped and soldered connector, but you'll still probably need to connect the leads to the engine, chassis, tank and other components at some points he indicates

Wed Jul 29, 2015 7:19 am

Yeah...I saw all that.

But I was wondering how he runs them. To a common point? To several chassis mounting points? To the battery directly?

Wed Jul 29, 2015 7:25 am

A buddy of mine just used his harness to build his Manx and he loved it. I can take a look at it but I'm pretty sure he runs the minimum wire necessary which would mean a number of separate wires at different points on the car.

Wed Jul 29, 2015 7:37 am

So he just runs them to the pan at multiple locations you think?

Wed Jul 29, 2015 8:06 am

The way its usually done is:

From an engine shroud screw with a common lead to the lights in back.

From a self tapping sheet metal screw drilled into in the flange of each front shock tower with a lead to the lights on that side in front.

Also run one ground lead from the left shock tower screw up through a hole in the body under the hood and back to the instruments and on to the gas tank sender.

I believe he uses the shortest runs with least amount of wire (KISS) and least visible routing. His circuits appear to follow the same basic circuitry of a VW bug, he even uses the VW numbers for the terminals on VW components like the wiper and turn signal switch, etc. Everything is just made to fit a specific buggy with high quality connections and modern materials and components. When you look at the long list of questions you need to answer for him to build your specific harness you can tell there is nothing generic about the harness, its custom made.

If you're looking to have mostly non-VW electric components like electronic guages, LED lights, seat warmers, etc., you probably ought to go with a street rod type harness

Wed Jul 29, 2015 8:41 am

My tail lights/turn signals and licence plate light is taken to "nearest" ground (somewhere on rear of chassis - maybe under starter bolt)..

Each front head lamp and turn signal is grounded to sheet metal screw in shock tower...

A large ground is brought up from pan and grounds aluminum plate all fuse panels and relays and flasher are mounted on and plate become a ground bus bar for any dash or fuel tank ground circuits....

Remember to run ground bond from chassis to transaxle...

Dale

Wed Jul 29, 2015 10:41 am

I personally never liked sheet metal screw grounds. Rust/vibration gets in and your connection suffers. Then you are chasing gremlins as the device seeks a ground.

Wed Jul 29, 2015 10:46 am

I always sandwich the ring terminal between serrated washers. Never had a problem with it.

Wed Jul 29, 2015 12:38 pm

My headlights and front turn signals ground is provided by a ring terminal and a bolt into the front beam, using the mounts that used to support the body in front of the gas tank. It allows a nice size ring terminal and a lot of good threads to insure it stays tight.

Thu Jul 30, 2015 7:46 am

Sorry j-t, not having used it ..and not having a Dale clone here to look at it, I can't tell you...

Jim

Thu Jul 30, 2015 8:09 am

I have used 5 Rebel wire harnesses so far and really like them. I had 20 hours in the last full wiring harness install inclusive of soldering and heat shrinking terminal ends. All except the dash harness, which is weather tight terminal ends to make the hood easy to remove. Another 3 hours on the dash side harness.

I am buying another Rebel harness today for the B&N Fiberglass Viper I am trying to complete before MOTB '15.