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boom10ful
Samba Member
Joined: January 10, 2017
Posts: 158
Location: United States
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 Posted: Tue Mar 21, 2017 11:06 am Post subject: Emergency Switch Electrical Gremlin |
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Hey everyone,
So last night I read up on how the emergency switch is supposed to work without the car being turned on. Mine has never worked like that so I went hunting down the problem today. Apparently the only problem there was that the fuse connectors and prongs were dirty/oxidized.
Now, when I turn on the emergency switch with the car switched off, I get the flashers working but everything else in the car, including the radio, turns on as well. The horn is also constantly blaring when the switch is on and the car is off. When the car is turned on, I do not have that problem. Anyone know what it could be? |
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garyt
Samba Member
Joined: June 14, 2015
Posts: 763
Location: Burgundy
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| Posted: Tue Mar 21, 2017 1:31 pm Post subject: Re: Emergency Switch Electrical Gremlin |
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| Close Encounters of the Third Kind. |
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boom10ful
Samba Member
Joined: January 10, 2017
Posts: 158
Location: United States
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| Posted: Tue Mar 21, 2017 7:30 pm Post subject: Re: Emergency Switch Electrical Gremlin |
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 Lol doubt it's that. I'll take apart the switch tomorrow and see if I wired it right. I've got a theory that I hope will be correct. |
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boom10ful
Samba Member
Joined: January 10, 2017
Posts: 158
Location: United States
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| Posted: Wed Mar 22, 2017 1:55 pm Post subject: Re: Emergency Switch Electrical Gremlin |
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Success!!! I have fixed it. The previous owner had wired the turn signal relay to fuse 1. There was no wire going from the hazard switch to fuse 1. By getting rid of the wire going from the relay to fuse 1 and connecting a wire from the hazard switch to fuse 1, that seems to have resolved my problem.
This was my culprit, the red cable was connected to the turn signal relay to fuse 1. PO did this; do not know why. Also still a mystery is why the horn and everything else turned on and the horn blared continuously when the car was off and the hazard switch was pulled.
The black and white striped cable was the one that was missing on the emergency switch. I know that it's not the correct colored cable but it'll have to do until I can get some more cable. It goes to fuse 1.
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ashman40
Samba Member
Joined: February 16, 2007
Posts: 15982
Location: North Florida, USA
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| Posted: Wed Mar 22, 2017 2:41 pm Post subject: Re: Emergency Switch Electrical Gremlin |
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This simplified wiring diagram from Speedy Jim's site should help you:
| boom10ful wrote: |
| Success!!! I have fixed it. The previous owner had wired the turn signal relay to fuse 1. There was no wire going from the hazard switch to fuse 1. By getting rid of the wire going from the relay to fuse 1 and connecting a wire from the hazard switch to fuse 1, that seems to have resolved my problem. |
You didn't identify the model year of your car, but since your #1 fuse appears to be the ignition switched fuse I'm guessing it is a car w/ 10-fuse fusebox... maybe a '70 or '71 based on your wire colors?
You are correct, the flasher relay should NOT be directly connected to the fusebox. The E-Flasher switch determines if the flasher relay is powered from either the red #30 wire (E-Flasher fuse) or the black #15 wire (turn signal fuse). So there should be two wires from two separate fuses running to the E-Flasher switch. The output from the E-Flasher switch to the flasher relay is from the + terminal over the white wire. This white wire goes to the #49 (+) terminal on the flasher relay. This wire should be the ONLY wire powering the flasher relay.
| boom10ful wrote: |
This was my culprit, the red cable was connected to the turn signal relay to fuse 1. PO did this; do not know why. |
If the only wire you changed was the one from the #1 fuse to the #15 terminal on the E-Flasher switch then I wonder if there are not a few others miswired? Compare your wiring by color and terminal numbers with the wiring from Speedy Jim above.
| boom10ful wrote: |
The black and white striped cable was the one that was missing on the emergency switch. I know that it's not the correct colored cable but it'll have to do until I can get some more cable. It goes to fuse 1. |
The #15 wire from the fuse box to the E-Flasher switch should be black or green.
| boom10ful wrote: |
Also still a mystery is why the horn and everything else turned on and the horn blared continuously when the car was off and the hazard switch was pulled.
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I'm guessing these are the before and after pics? The red wire in the first pic was the one running from the fuse box? This would explain why the horn and other things would work when you had the ignition OFF and the E-Flashers ON. The E-Flashers are powered from a separate fuse (#9) which hasa constant 12v. When you turn the ignition OFF and turned the E-Flasher switch ON, power coming from fuse #9 was passed to the white wire. Normally this would only power the flasher relay, but in your first pic the current coming in on the white wire would flow into the flasher relay but also flow OUT on the red wire. This provided current into the fusebox at fuse #1. Normally these fuses have zero voltage when the ignition is OFF, but that red wire powered up EVERYTHING that the ignition switch normally would have.
_________________
AshMan40
---------------------------
'67 Beetle #1 {project car that never made it to the road  }
'75 Beetle 1200LS (RHD Japan model) {junked due to frame rot}
'67 Beetle #2 {2019 project car - Wish me luck!} |
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boom10ful
Samba Member
Joined: January 10, 2017
Posts: 158
Location: United States
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| Posted: Wed Mar 22, 2017 2:52 pm Post subject: Re: Emergency Switch Electrical Gremlin |
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| ashman40 wrote: |
This simplified wiring diagram from Speedy Jim's site should help you:
| boom10ful wrote: |
| Success!!! I have fixed it. The previous owner had wired the turn signal relay to fuse 1. There was no wire going from the hazard switch to fuse 1. By getting rid of the wire going from the relay to fuse 1 and connecting a wire from the hazard switch to fuse 1, that seems to have resolved my problem. |
You didn't identify the model year of your car, but since your #1 fuse appears to be the ignition switched fuse I'm guessing it is a car w/ 10-fuse fusebox... maybe a '70 or '71 based on your wire colors?
You are correct, the flasher relay should NOT be directly connected to the fusebox. The E-Flasher switch determines if the flasher relay is powered from either the red #30 wire (E-Flasher fuse) or the black #15 wire (turn signal fuse). So there should be two wires from two separate fuses running to the E-Flasher switch. The output from the E-Flasher switch to the flasher relay is from the + terminal over the white wire. This white wire goes to the #49 (+) terminal on the flasher relay. This wire should be the ONLY wire powering the flasher relay.
| boom10ful wrote: |
This was my culprit, the red cable was connected to the turn signal relay to fuse 1. PO did this; do not know why. |
If the only wire you changed was the one from the #1 fuse to the #15 terminal on the E-Flasher switch then I wonder if there are not a few others miswired? Compare your wiring by color and terminal numbers with the wiring from Speedy Jim above.
| boom10ful wrote: |
The black and white striped cable was the one that was missing on the emergency switch. I know that it's not the correct colored cable but it'll have to do until I can get some more cable. It goes to fuse 1. |
The #15 wire from the fuse box to the E-Flasher switch should be black or green.
| boom10ful wrote: |
Also still a mystery is why the horn and everything else turned on and the horn blared continuously when the car was off and the hazard switch was pulled.
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I'm guessing these are the before and after pics? The red wire in the first pic was the one running from the fuse box? This would explain why the horn and other things would work when you had the ignition OFF and the E-Flashers ON. The E-Flashers are powered from a separate fuse (#9) which hasa constant 12v. When you turn the ignition OFF and turned the E-Flasher switch ON, power coming from fuse #9 was passed to the white wire. Normally this would only power the flasher relay, but in your first pic the current coming in on the white wire would flow into the flasher relay but also flow OUT on the red wire. This provided current into the fusebox at fuse #1. Normally these fuses have zero voltage when the ignition is OFF, but that red wire powered up EVERYTHING that the ignition switch normally would have. |
Thanks for the explanation! The first 2 photos are the before pics. The car that I have is a 1969 Beetle, which from what I have heard is one of the more "difficult" ones since the wiring diagram isn't officially available. There's still some more wiring to fix, mainly the aftermarket cables that are spliced together with butt connectors at the bottom of the car  and the brake warning light inside the car which does not work.
Other than that it seems like I have hunted down most electrical gremlins; it used to be a lot worse ! When I first got it someone removed the ground wire from inside the steering column bearing. Taking that out and soldering on a wire fixed that. I'll be sure to replace the cable with a black one when I order them. |
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