Dash fire. Road Trip. Ignition harness. Almost lost my westy

[furrylittleotter]

[ethirtydavid]

[MarkWard]

3m scotch lock connectors are not OE, but you probably knew that. Where does that red wire go? You only need to replace the wires that actually over heated and melted the insulation away. It would be nice to find a good used harness at some point. I have added quite a few loads to my stock wiring, but in each case each new load gets it's own relay. This takes the load off the OE wiring.
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[crazyvwvanman]

It looks like the added red wire is the culprit. The added current load from it spliced into the black wire overloaded the black wire from the splice point back to the power source at the key switch. Though one end of fuse 12 is used as a common connection point for the black wires the fuse is not there to protect the black wires.

It looks like good news in that from the photos it seems the damage is limited to the dash area and is visible.


Mark

[Bassyaks]

Did the PO add a high power headlight kit recently, he may of wired it in wrong. The Headlight wires run through the Ignition switch.
The ground tabs are usually full on the Westy's so the PO may of sought another spot to hook up.

again black and red wire NEVER go together whether German or American.

[Dampcamper]

So if it was me...
(1) Whatever the red wire is that's into that Scotchlock (tm) connector, you want to be looking at it. It looks like the black wire is melted up to that point, right? Beyond that it's not melted? Maybe that red wire is, some? This points, as others have said, to something about that red wire. Insulation sliced on a sharp metal edge? Terminal at other end came loose and shorted? To let that much smoke out of the black wire, it was a pretty convincing short-circuit. You can start by removing that connector and the red wire from the black wire.
(2) Look very critically at the insulation on ALL of the wires that were around the black wire from the switch connector to where it stopped burning. If there is a little meltage there you can probably get away with some electrical tape. Go buy a roll of the good stuff, 3M (Scotch) #88. The cheap stuff gets brittle or turns to gum or falls off two years later. - but -
(3) I would probably replace the ignition switch body and find a replacement "pigtail" (I don't know if anybody sells these new or you'd have to find one at a "used auto parts brokerage"?). They have been heated and stressed, you don't want some other part to fry next. You're in Portland, call Ashley. If any of the other wires (than black and maybe red?) aren't melted, they could be extracted from the connector (press the little latching tab that holds the lug in so you can slide it gently out of the connector body).
(4) Figure out if the added red wire is something you need to reconnect. If it is just the stereo, start over with the stereo, using a fuse.

[Wildthings]

The power feeds from the ignition switch to the #12 fuse and not the other way around. The problem is most definitely the added red wire. As I said before the PO added some kind of stereo or other load and then probably removed his prize electronics prior to selling the vehicle letting the wire he added dangling and eventually contacting a ground. Just clip the red wire off and remove the Scotchlok and tape the wires up with quality tape. Sadly this is what happens when ignorant lazy people don't use fuses when they add loads to a vehicle's electrical system.

[tam_shops]

Thank you both. Another, 10mm (thanks for the size cause I'd have had to try them all) on my list of things to buy next time I'm at the discount place that sells a set for a few bucks.

I already have a screwdriver in my kitchen drawer and when I did the stereo, which I could not do until I took a part and greased the seat so it would rotate....I only put 2 of the 4 screws back in. I'm not sure I see the point of all those screws, PITA if you ask me!

[SyncroChrick]

[tschroeder0]

[randywebb]

what is needed is a cutoff switch that sticks up thru the battery cover - it could take you some time to remove 4 screws and then undo the battery terminal bolt

I guess you'd need 2 of these if you also have an aux battery
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1986 2.1L Westy 2wd Auto Trans.

[dobryan]

[furrylittleotter]

I'd check every wire that has one of those stupid 3m piggyback connectors on it, minimum. Only Ghetto Radio shops and Best Buy installers use that garbage.

Neil2

[kamzcab86]

[randywebb]

[thatvwbusguy]

A Posi-Tap in the proper gauge is the only way I would consider tapping into a circuit. Even then, it is important to verify that the additional load being added can safely be handled by the host circuit without overheating anything.
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Jay Brown
'85 Zetec Westfalia
Newmarket, NH


If you want others to be happy, practice compassion.
If you want to be happy, practice compassion.

[randywebb]

Thx. I've often used the 3M blue things to add radar detectors, which of course don't draw much current.

For an inheritor of a PO'd Van, would you also suggest removing the 3M devices and replacing with something else? or has the damage already been done by the twin barbs cutting into the wire?

I also saw that the Posi-taps are widely distributed, and can be had at Auto-Zone, etc.
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1986 2.1L Westy 2wd Auto Trans.

[furrylittleotter]

[crazyvwvanman]

That IDC tap is not the cause of the problem in this case. The poor decision to add the red wire load at all is what resulted in overloading the black wire.

Mark

[randywebb]

Agreed, and shown by the melt/burn locations. My question above is a more general one, and not even Vanagon specific.
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1986 2.1L Westy 2wd Auto Trans.