TheSamba.com :: View topic

Tue Mar 15, 2022 4:40 pm

Hi everyone,

Just got these wires today after much research. Was looking for a set with Beru connectors. Even though they don’t say Beru, look at the close up photo of the long ones. Made in W. Germany! I was pleasently shocked. I believe these are probably the best connectors you could find today. The 2 short ones had no printing on them but certainly looked the Beru part. I did test fit them on the engine and they were perfect. The resistance readings checked also. Who knew at AutoZone!

Bill

Wed Mar 16, 2022 7:52 am

Thats interesting....and odd!

I think AutoZone's Duralast brand was just gotten off the ground maybe 2-3 years before the "wall" fell....and even the few years or so leading up to the reunification......it had become less common to find "Made in W. Germany" or "Western" Germany.

After the 1990 reunification.....the use of the made in west germany brand.....at least to my perception.....appeared to evaporate very quickly.

So.....one wonders, if these wires are from a stash of NOS .....or made from a stash of NOS parts....or if old molds were pressed into action .....or if this is simply an interesting and effective marketing ploy to sell new build parts to a discerning audience.

If one KNOWS that a customer target audience is clammering for parts made in a specific era for their percieved quality.....why not just make/mold them with the necessary markings to look like they come from that era? :wink: :lol:

I am not suggesting that they are "fakes" or poor at all.

From the pictures presented I "think/hope" they are new build build in old molds.

Notice the electrode socket that fits on the plug....appears to be either chrome ppated, nickel plated or stainless steel. The parts I remember being made from "West German" days even into the early 90s.....were brass.

Maybe Glenn Ring has some comment on these. Ray

Wed Mar 16, 2022 8:30 am

I've never seen black bakelite SP connectors on a VW, either, always brown.

This suggests they are new parts from old molds. Not definitive, though.

Wed Mar 16, 2022 9:26 am

KTPhil wrote: I've never seen black bakelite SP connectors on a VW, either, always brown.

This suggests they are new parts from old molds. Not definitive, though.

I have seen many black insulators. In fact....for what was available for type 4...in the early to through the late 90's I saw more black than brown.

BUT....most (not all) were not Bosch. They were NGK, Wells, Borg Warner...and some Bosch. Late build stuff. And...the black plastic while it worked fine was very different than the brown bakelite. It held up to the temperature just fine was was also more brittle with age. It had finer grain.

I assume it was bakelight but I'm not sure. I will have to see if I have any. Ray

Wed Mar 16, 2022 9:39 am

Yes, I was talking about Bosch branded connectors only.

And I also agree the black ones seemed to be a very different material than the brown Bosch parts; more of a plastic than true bakelite.

Wed Mar 16, 2022 12:23 pm

For the photos I pulled the rubber boot end protectors off. I wonder if I need to put them back on? Do they protect the connectors? Never did quite understand the reason for them.

Bill

Wed Mar 16, 2022 12:30 pm

I never used them in 40 years. They always stuck to the plug end and were a pain to retrieve.

Wed Mar 16, 2022 12:44 pm

Yep, same here.

Bill

Wed Mar 16, 2022 1:02 pm

Yes, those boot protectors do have a function but I totally agree. They suck to use on VW aircooled.

As good of quality as well made ACVW sparkplug wires and connectors were....the design sucks. Understand that the little clip in that metal socket that joins to the thread on the top of thesparkplug...is the only positive connection.

The socket itself is a loose fit on the threaded stud on the spark plug. This means that with vibration you get all kinds of arcing up in that socket....depending on how much vibration there is. Some of those sockets were machines to fit rather closely and so had as much or more contact as teh spring clip did. Others not so much.

You can see the poorly fitting ones from how much arc flash residue there is on the porcelain of the plugs. Depending on the ambient weather this flashover can cause intermittent misfiring as it arcs to ground on the plug. Its not rare. Its just so intermittent that most would not notice it......except on well tuned , lean burn engines like some people s D-jet :wink:

To bring this back around to the subject, those rubber boots are designed to prevent arcing to ground on connector designs like this.

I always wished they made these wire sets with the bakelight tubes...but with standard spring loaded positive connection spark plug connectors in them.

Ray

Mon Mar 21, 2022 9:25 am

Glad to see they haven’t changed sources. I have used those wires for years. They are excellent. I like the fit better than the bosch wires. These have very nice spark plug seals in the tips.

The one thing I don’t like is how stiff the cooling tin seal is. To make it work, I used the expanding spring type fuel hose clamps on them to keep them tight to the cooling tin. Remove the spark plug seal on the tip, remove the cooling tin seal, expand the hose clamp by pinching it with a pliers and slide it on, slide the cooling tin seal back on, then push the spark plug seal back on. Then connect the spark plug lest to the spark plug, push the cooling tin seal against the cooling tin, and lock it in place by clamping the seal with the hose clamp.

Mon Mar 21, 2022 11:43 am

Vanapplebomb wrote: Glad to see they haven’t changed sources. I have used those wires for years. They are excellent. I like the fit better than the bosch wires. These have very nice spark plug seals in the tips.

The one thing I don’t like is how stiff the cooling tin seal is. To make it work, I used the expanding spring type fuel hose clamps on them to keep them tight to the cooling tin. Remove the spark plug seal on the tip, remove the cooling tin seal, expand the hose clamp by pinching it with a pliers and slide it on, slide the cooling tin seal back on, then push the spark plug seal back on. Then connect the spark plug lest to the spark plug, push the cooling tin seal against the cooling tin, and lock it in place by clamping the seal with the hose clamp. Yes, I agree with you on the length and fit of the wires and connectors thru the tin holes and to the spark plugs. Looks better than anything I’ve seen in the past including Bosch. Yeah, the cooling tin seals need some help staying in place. I like your idea with the clamps. I think one could make it really simple and use zip ties.

Bill

Mon Mar 21, 2022 7:08 pm

I will take a photo of what I got. A zip tie may work, but it takes a fair amount of compression to get the cooling tin seals to hold well, especially since the insulator is tapered. Without a good strong clamp, they creep up.

Sun Apr 10, 2022 6:52 pm

I am so sorry, I compliantly forgot about this…

Sun Apr 10, 2022 8:32 pm

Nice!

Those spring type clamps are perfect for things like this and vacuum hoses because as the rubber shrinks over time the spring takes up the slack. Ray

Thu Jun 19, 2025 11:18 am

Struggling to find good type 4 leads.
Bus ok Netherlands may be good.
Correct ends, who made them??

Thu Jun 19, 2025 4:25 pm

Interesting. I have an old, spent pair that says Made in W. Germany and they were from the ealy 80's. Usually, there is grey/white text printed on the wire itself which may show at least the wire's date code.

Most likely, but not proven....it's a boot pressed in an old mold or the boots were laying around in some NOS bins (they made a ton of them) and repurposed with more modern parts. Especially since the box indicates Made in Mexico. (I went through this exercise a month ago, so I figured I would post).

I'm sure they will serve you well, nonetheless.

Hope this helped a little bit!

Ron