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Everpress
Samba Member
Joined: February 14, 2006
Posts: 415
Location: Augusta GA
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 Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2025 1:18 pm Post subject: Re: The Stupid Question Thread |
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| KentABQ wrote: |
The Samba also has all the wiring diagrams in the "Technical" section above. |
Thanks; I always forget that. My son tore apart my Bentley manual with the intention of laminating and hole punching the whole thing... That was a year or so ago... Not pointing fingers but a lot of pages disappeared during this "project". I have a new one on order.
Would the turn signal housing be a point of failure for the entire passenger side having no lights (passenger side headlight works on normal - turn the brights on, and it fails though)?
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1969 Bay Camper - "Lost 'Cause Mk.I"
1904 DP
EMPI 34 PICT 3
2000 MAGNASPARK II Ignition/Distributor
Refurb, not resto (I’m not made of restoration money!)
It's not a perfect loaf, but it's my loaf. |
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Wildthings
Samba Member
Joined: March 13, 2005
Posts: 52401
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| Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2025 8:23 pm Post subject: Re: The Stupid Question Thread |
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| Everpress wrote: |
| Wildthings wrote: |
| The grounds near the battery can be a mess, not sure what your vintage bus has exactly though. |
I get that. I removed the screw holding multiple grounds on the passenger side engine compartment and wire-brushed the point of contact on the bus as well as the ends of the ground wires. I forgot to mention that.
I need to find my wiring diagram, honestly, and put it to work.
It seems the positive wires on the rear pass. side share power with the license plate light (which does work?) which is why I started focusing on the ground wires. |
Scraping the corrosion off the inside of the sockets for the bulbs may help as may cleaning the bases of the bulbs themselves. I have been applying a thin layer of dielectric grease to such sockets and bulb bases for 20+ years at point and have greatly reduced the maintenance require to keep the lights functioning. |
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Everpress
Samba Member
Joined: February 14, 2006
Posts: 415
Location: Augusta GA
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| Posted: Sun Jul 20, 2025 10:39 am Post subject: Re: The Stupid Question Thread |
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| Wildthings wrote: |
Scraping the corrosion off the inside of the sockets for the bulbs may help as may cleaning the bases of the bulbs themselves. I have been applying a thin layer of dielectric grease to such sockets and bulb bases for 20+ years at point and have greatly reduced the maintenance require to keep the lights functioning. |
No real corrosion to speak of. Probably because this was suggested a year or so ago to get the tail lights/brake lights working. And yep, it worked then, but the magic of it working twice isn't there.
If my turn signal assembly is messed up, would this affect the entire passenger side? I ask because:
1) Everything on the driver's side works now (except backup lights - which I can fool with later).
2) Sometimes when I try to use my turn signal, the horn honks
3) There are clicks (light a blinker relay) when using the left signal, but not the right.
I think I explored the easier stuff to diagnose thanks to you fine folks. If it is the turn signal assembly, I'll be ripping that off (gently, of course) and working for a bit at the kitchen table to clean and reassemble instead of the 100 degree Georgia heat.
_________________
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1969 Bay Camper - "Lost 'Cause Mk.I"
1904 DP
EMPI 34 PICT 3
2000 MAGNASPARK II Ignition/Distributor
Refurb, not resto (I’m not made of restoration money!)
It's not a perfect loaf, but it's my loaf. |
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Wildthings
Samba Member
Joined: March 13, 2005
Posts: 52401
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| Posted: Sun Jul 20, 2025 1:55 pm Post subject: Re: The Stupid Question Thread |
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| Everpress wrote: |
| Wildthings wrote: |
Scraping the corrosion off the inside of the sockets for the bulbs may help as may cleaning the bases of the bulbs themselves. I have been applying a thin layer of dielectric grease to such sockets and bulb bases for 20+ years at point and have greatly reduced the maintenance require to keep the lights functioning. |
No real corrosion to speak of. Probably because this was suggested a year or so ago to get the tail lights/brake lights working. And yep, it worked then, but the magic of it working twice isn't there. |
If you are sure you have a good ground you need to work either forward or backwards on the 12+ side to see where in the circuit the power disappears. Fuses, switches, and connectors are the most likely spots to have problems. |
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70bus 
Samba Member
Joined: July 15, 2004
Posts: 1425
Location: P.O.
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| Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2025 12:40 am Post subject: Re: The Stupid Question Thread |
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I am making interior panels for my 70, and haven’t found some info in the forums yet: I don’t have some of the original panels, but I traced the locations of the mounting holes in the frame. What I need to know is how much to offset the holes in the panel, and whether they are all offset the same direction (I.e., “panel holes are all drilled 1/4” below the holes in the frame.”
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Craig K
70 Neunsitzer
65 Pritschenwagen
"If Von Dutch was alive, he'd walk in there with a pistol and shoot these people." - Robert Williams
Raul the 65 singlecab
Karl the 70 nine-seater |
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W1K1
Samba Member
Joined: March 04, 2004
Posts: 5303
Location: Southern AB
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| Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2025 5:56 am Post subject: Re: The Stupid Question Thread |
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| 70bus wrote: |
| I am making interior panels for my 70, and haven’t found some info in the forums yet: I don’t have some of the original panels, but I traced the locations of the mounting holes in the frame. What I need to know is how much to offset the holes in the panel, and whether they are all offset the same direction (I.e., “panel holes are all drilled 1/4” below the holes in the frame.” |
as an alternative: i tried the WW reproduction clips on mine and gave up, they never seemed to stay stuck. I ordered the modern push pin type for my new panels off amazon
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1973 super 2110cc
1965 squareback 1500E-sold
1971 bay window westy- EJ2.5 subi swap |
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70bus
Samba Member
Joined: July 15, 2004
Posts: 1425
Location: P.O.
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| Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2025 8:46 am Post subject: Re: The Stupid Question Thread |
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Thanks; while those look great in later buses, I have a Deluxe with light/dark grey panels. I'll look for some that are a close color match, though.
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Craig K
70 Neunsitzer
65 Pritschenwagen
"If Von Dutch was alive, he'd walk in there with a pistol and shoot these people." - Robert Williams
Raul the 65 singlecab
Karl the 70 nine-seater |
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70bus
Samba Member
Joined: July 15, 2004
Posts: 1425
Location: P.O.
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| Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2025 7:33 pm Post subject: Re: The Stupid Question Thread |
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Bumping this a bit - still didn't find any real advice on hole offsets for the clips. And I measured both the space in the bus and the (slightly shrunken) vinyl cover to the big panel on driver's side... double-checking that it is roughly 48" x 30" or did my vinyl REALLY shrink?
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Craig K
70 Neunsitzer
65 Pritschenwagen
"If Von Dutch was alive, he'd walk in there with a pistol and shoot these people." - Robert Williams
Raul the 65 singlecab
Karl the 70 nine-seater |
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busdaddy
Samba Member
Joined: February 12, 2004
Posts: 52847
Location: Surrey B.C. Canada, but thinking of Ukraine
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| Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2025 8:19 pm Post subject: Re: The Stupid Question Thread |
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You really need an old panel from that year to trace, many of the panels changed around 70 and the offset and spacing for the clip holes changed with them. The vinyl sometimes shrinks if it's gotten loose, or the panel could be a different size if it's for the sliding door.
_________________
Rust NEVER sleeps and stock never goes out of style.
Please don't PM technical questions, ask your problem in public so everyone can play along. If you think it's too stupid post it here
Stop dead photo links! Post your photos to The Samba Gallery!
Слава Україні! |
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70bus
Samba Member
Joined: July 15, 2004
Posts: 1425
Location: P.O.
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| Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2025 8:36 pm Post subject: Re: The Stupid Question Thread |
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That’s my problem - the original panel fell apart, and I haven’t found another to trace. I’ll try local VW shop tomorrow and see if they’ll let me trace one … if they have one! They had some nice panels last time I looked, but wrong colors and unknown years. Don’t really want to buy nice one to strip and glue my old vinyl to. Same for the sliding door panel.
I’ll happily pay for a good, correct one, of course. Just have some Masonite laying around and the old coverings. Bought new kick pieces and hatch panels from Clara, but she hasn’t branched into the multitude of bay side panels yet.
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Craig K
70 Neunsitzer
65 Pritschenwagen
"If Von Dutch was alive, he'd walk in there with a pistol and shoot these people." - Robert Williams
Raul the 65 singlecab
Karl the 70 nine-seater |
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70bus
Samba Member
Joined: July 15, 2004
Posts: 1425
Location: P.O.
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| Posted: Wed Jul 30, 2025 11:04 pm Post subject: Re: The Stupid Question Thread |
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Ok, theoffset for most panel clips is 15 to 17mm from the center of the hole; the bulk seem to be offset 45 degrees and the rest straight up/down or horizontal. My long cargo panel had 4 tha were horizontally offset, and 2 vertical upwards… but I was using a 75 panel for a template and I have a 70. There were holes in body not drilled in later-bay panel. . It may vary by year cluster.
I’m continuing the rest of this repair over in Karl’s thread but wanted to post an answer to my original Q for the next person attempting this.
_________________
Craig K
70 Neunsitzer
65 Pritschenwagen
"If Von Dutch was alive, he'd walk in there with a pistol and shoot these people." - Robert Williams
Raul the 65 singlecab
Karl the 70 nine-seater |
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70bus
Samba Member
Joined: July 15, 2004
Posts: 1425
Location: P.O.
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| Posted: Wed Jul 30, 2025 11:06 pm Post subject: Re: The Stupid Question Thread |
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Next stupid question: why are some fog light knobs GREEN and some ORANGE. Country rules, year, or plain old whim?
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Craig K
70 Neunsitzer
65 Pritschenwagen
"If Von Dutch was alive, he'd walk in there with a pistol and shoot these people." - Robert Williams
Raul the 65 singlecab
Karl the 70 nine-seater |
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KTPhil
Samba Member
Joined: April 06, 2006
Posts: 35947
Location: Conejo Valley, CA
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| Posted: Thu Jul 31, 2025 8:27 am Post subject: Re: The Stupid Question Thread |
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| 70bus wrote: |
| Next stupid question: why are some fog light knobs GREEN and some ORANGE. Country rules, year, or plain old whim? |
Most I have seen are orange, at least on German cars.
I had a green one, but I had cheated and used a green defroster switch, and buffed off the defrost symbol. For the single position (on/off) switch, it is identical to the defogger switch; only the screwed-in lamp lens is different. The 2 position (front/front+rear/off) switches are not the same, obviously.
_________________
Current Fleet:
- '71 Fastback
- '69 Westfalia
Retired:
- '67 Beetle
- '65 Beetle (x2)
- '65 Bus
- '71 Squareback |
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jasoncvw
Samba Member
Joined: August 27, 2024
Posts: 7
Location: central Ohio
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| Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2025 5:25 am Post subject: Re: The Stupid Question Thread |
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We recently brought home a 76 Westy. I was digging in yesterday and noticed a reservoir on top of the engine. The engine in the pic is not ours, it's still in the Bus and running well. What is the reservoir?
Thanks!
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busdaddy
Samba Member
Joined: February 12, 2004
Posts: 52847
Location: Surrey B.C. Canada, but thinking of Ukraine
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| Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2025 7:49 am Post subject: Re: The Stupid Question Thread |
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It's an oil separator, it strains the juicy stuff out of the crankcase fumes, the fumes go to the intake manifold to be reburnt, the oily moisture falls back into the engine.
_________________
Rust NEVER sleeps and stock never goes out of style.
Please don't PM technical questions, ask your problem in public so everyone can play along. If you think it's too stupid post it here
Stop dead photo links! Post your photos to The Samba Gallery!
Слава Україні! |
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jasoncvw
Samba Member
Joined: August 27, 2024
Posts: 7
Location: central Ohio
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| Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2025 5:14 pm Post subject: Re: The Stupid Question Thread |
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| busdaddy wrote: |
| It's an oil separator, it strains the juicy stuff out of the crankcase fumes, the fumes go to the intake manifold to be reburnt, the oily moisture falls back into the engine. |
Right on, thank you. Is there any maintenance to be done for this? |
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busdaddy
Samba Member
Joined: February 12, 2004
Posts: 52847
Location: Surrey B.C. Canada, but thinking of Ukraine
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| Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2025 5:50 pm Post subject: Re: The Stupid Question Thread |
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| jasoncvw wrote: |
| busdaddy wrote: |
| It's an oil separator, it strains the juicy stuff out of the crankcase fumes, the fumes go to the intake manifold to be reburnt, the oily moisture falls back into the engine. |
Right on, thank you. Is there any maintenance to be done for this? |
Maybe clean it out with carb cleaner, and test it to confirm the diaphragm in the valve isn't broken: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/search.php?searc..._chars=200
_________________
Rust NEVER sleeps and stock never goes out of style.
Please don't PM technical questions, ask your problem in public so everyone can play along. If you think it's too stupid post it here
Stop dead photo links! Post your photos to The Samba Gallery!
Слава Україні! |
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jasoncvw
Samba Member
Joined: August 27, 2024
Posts: 7
Location: central Ohio
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| Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2025 6:20 pm Post subject: Re: The Stupid Question Thread |
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| busdaddy wrote: |
| jasoncvw wrote: |
| busdaddy wrote: |
| It's an oil separator, it strains the juicy stuff out of the crankcase fumes, the fumes go to the intake manifold to be reburnt, the oily moisture falls back into the engine. |
Right on, thank you. Is there any maintenance to be done for this? |
Maybe clean it out with carb cleaner, and test it to confirm the diaphragm in the valve isn't broken: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/search.php?searc..._chars=200 |
Thank you! |
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dodger tom
Samba Member
Joined: March 25, 2013
Posts: 1923
Location: Central Coast, CA, but we're all still Ukrainian and Californian
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Kwoggy
Samba Member
Joined: October 11, 2012
Posts: 44
Location: Ventura County
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| Posted: Thu Aug 07, 2025 9:26 am Post subject: Re: The Stupid Question Thread |
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1970 walk through Bus. Under the walk thru mat, did the factory install this small board?
Under the board there appears to be four holes. Two have screws coming up through the floor, two appear to be empty. Looking for the factory set up under this mat.
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1970 Bus |
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