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Fri Apr 09, 2021 9:22 am

I'm messing with my alternator, and once it was out, I see a cut off wire laying down there beneath it. Any ideas on what that is?

Fri Apr 09, 2021 9:31 am

High oil pressure sender wire? The sender is behind the crank pulley.

Fri Apr 09, 2021 9:39 am

0to60in6min wrote: High oil pressure sender wire? The sender is behind the crank pulley.
All systems function on this van, so I don't think that's it.

Fri Apr 09, 2021 9:44 am

Igeo wrote: 0to60in6min wrote: High oil pressure sender wire? The sender is behind the crank pulley.
All systems function on this van, so I don't think that's it.

Do they? Do you get the low oil pressure buzzer?

The dynamic system is Easily bypassed and using that sender is not necessary once it is.

Dave

Fri Apr 09, 2021 9:49 am

Follow it forward. In general, brown wires are grounds. It looks brown in the picture.

Fri Apr 09, 2021 10:06 am

Agree that it's a ground.

I had an 85 that generally ran well, but would digifart on the highway in certain conditions. After chasing it for months, I finally saw that this ground was not connected. Cleaned it up and reconnected and my problem vanished.

Fri Apr 09, 2021 10:24 am

My thought was a ground also. Do you recognize this location for routing a ground wire? It's fairly heavy guage, and runs under the throttle body.
I guess I could see if it has continuity to the fuse panel.

Fri Apr 09, 2021 10:37 am

I don't recall any wire routing in that location. Grounds don't run to the fusebox. They either go to the chassis or act as a ground path for a component. I'd try to fish it out from under the intake while you have that room and follow it to the other side of the engine bay.

Fri Apr 09, 2021 10:54 am

MarkWard wrote: I don't recall any wire routing in that location. Grounds don't run to the fusebox. They either go to the chassis or act as a ground path for a component. I'd try to fish it out from under the intake while you have that room and follow it to the other side of the engine bay.

It seems to run to the bellhousing, but is hard to see under there. I thought maybe if it was connected to a component, that it should have continuity at the panel.

Fri Apr 09, 2021 11:05 am

The picture is poor, but there was a vw dealer diagnostic sensor that was pressed into the engine case just in front of the throttle body. It was more of a shielded wire with a molded plug that was attached to the alternator for access. So, if that is the wire with the molded end off, you can just ignore it.

Fri Apr 09, 2021 11:14 am

I think Mark got it right... :D

it could be the wire from this plug attached to the back of the alternator.

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=711110

Fri Apr 09, 2021 11:36 am

0to60in6min wrote: I think Mark got it right... :D

it could be the wire from this plug attached to the back of the alternator.

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=711110

After going through the links, I'm convinced that it's for that VW diagnostic plug that is not used and someone cut off. It does stick out of the bellhousing too- seemingly intended as a crank position sensor? Weird.
Thanks all.