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Wed Apr 28, 2021 10:52 am

I'd be curious what sort of bolt is in that hole, is it M10X1.0?, or whatever the PO had on hand that got jammed in there? Some thread remediation may be in order before a regular sender will fit.

Wed Apr 28, 2021 10:52 am

you guys are awesome! thanks for all the info busdaddy and HoboBus! Looks like I'll need to buy a multimeter and an oil sensor!

Wed Apr 28, 2021 10:54 am

busdaddy wrote: I'd be curious what sort of bolt is in that hole, is it M10X1.0?, or whatever the PO had on hand that got jammed in there? Some thread remediation may be in order before a regular sender will fit.

I'm not sure how to check the thread, but I was thinking of using loctite for the new sender, unless it's seriously messed up.

Wed Apr 28, 2021 11:05 am

totally helpless guys could take the bolt to a small time hardware, not big box. A clerk can tell you your threads count/pitch/metric or sae.
or you start grabiing nuts and see what fits the bolt. a tight fit, not loose fit. tight with fingers.

Wed Apr 28, 2021 11:19 am

I'd be careful with loctite - You want to be able to get it back out easily if it fails.

Also, don't get any goop in the hole on the sensor, could ruin it.

If anything, maybe a little rtv on the male threads. Just a little.

If you don't have a multimeter now, consider getting a nice one, that includes tachometer, dwell for checking your points, etc. Actron has a decent one that's like $40 and is what I bought.

As for the threads, I guess I'd take out the bolt and see how it looks. If the threads on the bolt look ok, and measure 10mm across, the hole is probably ok. If the threads on the bolt look like crossthreaded crap.... the hole will need closer review.

Wed Apr 28, 2021 12:56 pm

So, taking a look at it again... It looks like there's a green wire that goes from the ignition coil to the weber carb. Could it be that the PO removed the oil sensor because they needed a 12v connection for the electric choke on the weber??
wire being touched in both photos is the same wire. one end goes to the ignition coil, the other goes to what I assume is the electric choke on the aftermarket weber carb.

Ordered an oil pressure sender, should be here by EOD. Also ordered some other stuff from busdepot... extra bulbs, dipstick oil temp sender, fuses, and a replacement fuse box cover, cause it looks like mine is missing.

Wed Apr 28, 2021 1:40 pm

That was added by whoever installed the Weber, the oil wire doesn't supply power. Follow the black wire that one is teamed up with on the coil up to the roof of the engine compartment, sooner or later it'll become a thin harness near the booster fan mount, the blue/green wire is in that.

Wed Apr 28, 2021 1:43 pm

theguyryry wrote: Could it be that the PO removed the oil sensor because they needed a 12v connection for the electric choke on the weber?

If they did that, it was a bad idea.

Yes, that is your electric choke. Power for the choke should come from a new separate wire, direct from ignition coil +, to the terminal on the choke. If that's not how it's wired now, wire it that way with a new wire.

Keep in mind that the oil pressure sensor does need 12v+, but it needs to come through the bulb in the dash, like we talked about. Not just regular battery power like the electric choke uses.

Wed Apr 28, 2021 2:52 pm

they removed the oil light switch because either
it leaked oil and they did a long term temp fix by plugging it
it constantly flickered and the plug in it's place is so much less stress in the mountains at night
or they're just plain dumb, that scenario will come to light with other 'repairs'

Thu Apr 29, 2021 9:20 am

busdaddy wrote: That was added by whoever installed the Weber, the oil wire doesn't supply power. Follow the black wire that one is teamed up with on the coil up to the roof of the engine compartment, sooner or later it'll become a thin harness near the booster fan mount, the blue/green wire is in that.

Alright, I've followed this black wire, and after cutting back some of the harness, I found and connected the new sensor to the blue/green wire. Going to turn the ignition, and the oil light still doesn't turn on. the bulb looks ok... is there anything else I can check?

Thu Apr 29, 2021 9:29 am

theguyryry wrote: busdaddy wrote: That was added by whoever installed the Weber, the oil wire doesn't supply power. Follow the black wire that one is teamed up with on the coil up to the roof of the engine compartment, sooner or later it'll become a thin harness near the booster fan mount, the blue/green wire is in that.

Alright, I've followed this black wire, and after cutting back some of the harness, I found and connected the new sensor to the blue/green wire. Going to turn the ignition, and the oil light still doesn't turn on. the bulb looks ok... is there anything else I can check?
Do the rest of the idiot lights work?, specifically the charge light?, if they do the bulb is the #1 suspect.

Thu Apr 29, 2021 9:35 am

busdaddy wrote: theguyryry wrote: busdaddy wrote: That was added by whoever installed the Weber, the oil wire doesn't supply power. Follow the black wire that one is teamed up with on the coil up to the roof of the engine compartment, sooner or later it'll become a thin harness near the booster fan mount, the blue/green wire is in that.

Alright, I've followed this black wire, and after cutting back some of the harness, I found and connected the new sensor to the blue/green wire. Going to turn the ignition, and the oil light still doesn't turn on. the bulb looks ok... is there anything else I can check?
Do the rest of the idiot lights work?, specifically the charge light?, if they do the bulb is the #1 suspect.

the generator / alternator light works, although it doesn't seem to turn off... still gotta figure out why that's happening. I do have more bulbs on the way, waiting for busdepot to ship them out.

Thu Apr 29, 2021 1:59 pm

Hey, are you still in Pensacola? If so, there is another tech session at Don Doroughs, on Longleaf,at 10:00 Saturday. Lots of bus guys will be there to help with questions if you want, although you got some great guys answering your questions here! The tech session is informal, guys just come and bring their cars and we try to get things resolved. I will be there with my 73, if you come, my name is Tom. Come find me if you want.

Thu Apr 29, 2021 2:21 pm

Tbob wrote: Hey, are you still in Pensacola? If so, there is another tech session at Don Doroughs, on Longleaf,at 10:00 Saturday. Lots of bus guys will be there to help with questions if you want, although you got some great guys answering your questions here! The tech session is informal, guys just come and bring their cars and we try to get things resolved. I will be there with my 73, if you come, my name is Tom. Come find me if you want.

Not quite pensacola, I'm down in Niceville. I was planning on going if I get enough confidence with bubba! haha. I'm a little spooked driving it with the oil light not working.

Thu Apr 29, 2021 3:10 pm

You really need a simple volt-ohm-meter. Even the $2.99 one from Harbor Freight.

You need to confirm 12v+ at one terminal of the bulb socket in the dash, key on.

Confirm that the bulb is good and the socket is good, so the 12v+ is going through the bulb and into the other wire of the socket.

Then confirm that the wire you're working with in the engine compartment is the same wire coming from the bulb.

Then confirm that the new sensor in the engine is working, by confirming connection of the terminal connector to ground when the motor ISN'T running, and NO connection to ground when the motor IS running.

Then the light should work.

Seems like a lot, but it's really not.

There's a lot off things that could be the culprit:
No power at the bulb.
Bulb Socket dirty or broken.
Bulb bad.
Wrong wire in the engine compartment.

Keep at it!

.

Thu Apr 29, 2021 7:31 pm

HoboBus wrote: You really need a simple volt-ohm-meter. Even the $2.99 one from Harbor Freight. You need to confirm 12v+ at one terminal of the bulb socket in the dash, key on. Confirm that the bulb is good and the socket is good, so the 12v+ is going through the bulb and into the other wire of the socket.
Then confirm that the wire you're working with in the engine compartment is the same wire coming from the bulb.
Then confirm that the new sensor in the engine is working, by confirming connection of the terminal connector to ground when the motor ISN'T running, and NO connection to ground when the motor IS running.
Then the light should work.
Seems like a lot, but it's really not.
There's a lot off things that could be the culprit:
No power at the bulb.
Bulb Socket dirty or broken.
Bulb bad.
Wrong wire in the engine compartment.
Keep at it!
.

I did end up splurging and bought the $39 multimeter from Autozone. I almost definitely paid way too much for it, and I have no idea how it works, but I got it to show 12.5 volts when connected to the terminals on the battery. If I have time tomorrow I'll go through these steps to find the culprit. Question:

How do I confirm ( using multimeter ) the wire I'm working with in the dash is the same as the engine compartment, other than following the bentley manual and color coded wires?

I'm sure I'll have more tomorrow... :lol:

Thu Apr 29, 2021 8:30 pm

theguyryry wrote: HoboBus wrote: You really need a simple volt-ohm-meter. Even the $2.99 one from Harbor Freight. You need to confirm 12v+ at one terminal of the bulb socket in the dash, key on. Confirm that the bulb is good and the socket is good, so the 12v+ is going through the bulb and into the other wire of the socket.
Then confirm that the wire you're working with in the engine compartment is the same wire coming from the bulb.
Then confirm that the new sensor in the engine is working, by confirming connection of the terminal connector to ground when the motor ISN'T running, and NO connection to ground when the motor IS running.
Then the light should work.
Seems like a lot, but it's really not.
There's a lot off things that could be the culprit:
No power at the bulb.
Bulb Socket dirty or broken.
Bulb bad.
Wrong wire in the engine compartment.
Keep at it!
.

I did end up splurging and bought the $39 multimeter from Autozone. I almost definitely paid way too much for it, and I have no idea how it works, but I got it to show 12.5 volts when connected to the terminals on the battery. If I have time tomorrow I'll go through these steps to find the culprit. Question:

How do I confirm ( using multimeter ) the wire I'm working with in the dash is the same as the engine compartment, other than following the bentley manual and color coded wires?

I'm sure I'll have more tomorrow... :lol: . With a long enough jumper wire, you perform a continuity test using the OHM function on your new meter. Google testing Open Circuits or Performing Resistance Checks with a Multi Meter.
The test leads on any meter are too short to check front to back on a vehicle, so you make or buy a jumper wire to span the distance . Added screen shot of common tool with alligator clips already installed that many shops and techs use, since it’s easy to unreel, and rewind the wires back up with this premade set-up.
Here you go, no VW toolbox should be without one of these. 8)
They tend to come in either 10 foot rolls or 30 foot rolls, 2 or 3 wire versions for either length.
You gently pull on both wire ends to spool the wires out, then to rewind, you hold the bottom and turn the top half, or similar.
Most of these are light gauge wire, so you can’t do power substitution feeds on circuits that pull a lot of amps , but for resistance or ohm checks, 18ga wire is fine.
Much easier than unraveling a coil of wire you bought at the auto parts store and adding clips to both ends.

Sun May 02, 2021 6:22 pm

Update on my wiring fiaso...

I went to the meetup in Pensacola this weekend. Awesome group of people. The most air cooled VW's in one place that I've been. Don (the host) and some other people helped me figure out what was going on. Turns out, the PO rewired the dash so that the positives and negatives were flipped... what a cluster... Don ended up helping me rewire all of that, and yelled at me for my terrible job in engine bay :lol:.

Long story short, the oil light works now! the turn signal lights are a bit weird (always on), but I can live with that for now. I managed to make it to and from Pensacola with no mechanical issues! I did, however, get pulled over for not registering the bus in FL. Even after telling the cop that I'm only gonna be here for another week, i ended up getting a citation. Now I have a court date for the same week I'm back in Portland... Gonna see how that goes, lol.

Thank you to Don, Tbob, busdaddy, and everyone else that's helped me so much already! Next up, learning how to do my timing and adjust my valves! Hopefully that'll end up going better than my soldering :lol:.

Mon May 03, 2021 5:32 am

Excellent. Oil light is good.

Moral of the story: You never know what you're gonna find in a vehicle that's been rumbling around for almost 50 years, with who knows how many owners.

.

Sun Jun 06, 2021 7:38 pm

Hey y'all, just wanted give an update on how bubba and i are doing, along with post a question. hoping for you the hive mind to tell me how screwed i am...

the update - I managed to get bubba back to Portland, after an arduous journey on the back of a truck. I tried using Easy Auto Ship, but they under quoted me, so none of the available truck drivers took the bid. I ended up paying $2400 to get it shipped from Florida to Portland... But she made it! Only a couple scratches on the roof from the drive, and a weird hole in the z-bed cover. I'd have been more upset if I wasn't planning on tearing that out this summer. She's been chugging along, no major paint points and honestly just having a blast driving her around.

the question - I've been going through the Muir book, and finally had some time this weekend to dive in and try my hand at basic maintenance. I was planning on doing the valves, compression check, general clean up, and I bought some parts I was going to install (mostly cosmetic stuff). I'd already done an oil change in florida (less than 100 miles ago) so I was going to skip that. Well anyway, I get the to the valve adjustment, and things are off to a rocky start. The PO (or whoever was maintaining it) used adhesive on both sides of the valve cover gaskets, so I spent about 3 hours scraping them clean. Oh well, I won't have to do that again. I get to adjusting the valves, move the motor to TDC, valve adjustments went great. I adjust the valves to BDC, go to loosen valve adjustment nut, and the bolt sheers right off.

How screwed am I? it looks like you can buy the bolts online, none of the local parts stores had them. Can someone direct me to a video or description on how to remove those valves adjustment bolts without messing with the springs? do i have to drop the motor? I'm assuming I can't start / drive bus until I get that replaced, right?