Fuse box problem - need help please

[richierich]

1965 US spec Panel. Firstly, I'm not much good with electrics.

After driving for about an hour the other night with the headlamps on, smelled burning. Pulled over to find no 1 fuse half melted and this charring to one of the connections at back of fusebox as ringed in Yellow. It may be that the two black wires touched one another - could that cause this??

Turned light off and drove with no lights on a back road and everything seemed to be ok without the lights on. Any idea what's happened here??


Also, this is my fuse layout. The two Blue ones on 1 and 2 are 25 amp. Is this correct or should 1 and 2 be 16 amp?

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[Eric&Barb]

Voltage drops. BTDT! You are turning electricity into lots of heat.

The below posted before:

Even better is to solder up the internal connections in the headlight and fuse box, so both the headlights and all other electrics work better/brighter. With connections having any voltage drops removed the headlight circuits can handle 60 Watt bulbs. USA used 50/55 watt bulbs and we have been using H4 55/60 bulbs for many years and hundreds of thousands of miles.

http://type2.com/library/electris/vw-hauptlicht-schalter.html

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=483901&highlight=fuse+box+soldering

Make sure you have good clean and dielectric greased electrical connections. Do not forget the grounds!!! Also check voltage at the battery and how much voltage at the headlights with the old bulbs turn on for both voltage measurements. You might be getting say 6.2 volts at the battery with everything off, but only 5.5 volts with headlights turned on. With the load of the headlights any corroded loose connections will heat up and show as even less voltage getting to the headlights, could be a volt or even two less!

Doing all of the above will result in not only brighter headlights, but faster wipers, and brighter turn signals. The easier you can see and easier other drivers can see you and what you are intending to do makes a big difference....
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[Eric&Barb]

From the 1965 bus owner manual:

Lots more need to know info in the owners manuals!

Go thru the "Technical" button at upper right. Print out two copies, one for home, one for in the bus. Read often till you have a good grasp of what is in it and how to use the index to find info in a couple of minutes.
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[Eric&Barb]

Get rid of those cheap crappy wiring connectors. Either get brass terminals to solder and heat shrink onto each wire or get the factory style crimping tool that squeezes the brass terminals on so tightly that it makes a gas tight connection to the wire and no oxygen so corrosion can get in between the two.

Go down into the "Electricals" part of the "Split Bus FAQ and How Tos - *Read before posting*" (up at the top of the "Stickies" at the top of the split bus forum and look for the
"Wiring terminals and crimping tool" thread.
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[telford dorr]

No ACVW should EVER have a blue fuse installed! Most fuses should be white, with maybe only one or two red fuses installed. See the Owner's Manual for your year bus in Technical for specifics. Note: all of your bus fuses should be white.

With the correct fuses installed, any blown fuse points to an overloaded circuit. DO NOT MASK by installing bigger fuses - find and fix the real problem.
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[richierich]

Thanks for the comments fellas.

Eric and barb - I have the owners manual and the wiring diagram (though weirdly, the owners manual copy I have doesn't mention actual fuse ratings). The problem with the the wiring diagram is that I don't particularly know how to decipher it.

I had no problems with the electrics until I used the headlights (previously only driven it during the day) so obviously, something is happening somewhere within the lighting circuit as you suggest.


telford dorr - the fuses are what was in the bus when I got it and I figured they may not be correct. That's why I was asking about the 25's and whether they are correct.
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[ToolBox]

[EverettB]

Replace all of those fuses with 8s and see if something blows right away.

My '63, all white:

It looks like the wire that heated up goes to the turn signal switch based on the color but that has nothing to with the headlights so maybe it just got super hot from something else.

Maybe the thick red wire got super hot from the headlights.
This can happen but cleaning up the fuse box, headlights, headlight switch, and dimmer switch on floor connections can often help.

I'm not sure why that large red wire at the top of your pic is on the bottom position of the fuse box - This may be wrong but I'm not 100% sure.
Maybe someone with a '65 on hand can post what is the original wiring layout to be sure.
Edit, found this photo marked 1965 in the Gallery but not the greatest reference pic

I'm not sure what the red wire 2nd down in your pics is either.
This is connected to the 2nd fuse box spot from the right, correct?

I think it's possible a bunch of the wires are in the wrong places on the fuse box or maybe just on the bottom or top vs. the right top or bottom position.

I wish I could be more specific but I'm not sure for 1965
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[Culito]

Also make sure the wires to the headlights are not damaged where they pass into the bucket.
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