VW Diagnostic Socket Wires

[nathansnathan]

I should have got the 2 thin green wires that come out the grey sleeve.

This is the sparkplug diagnostic wire that was wrapped around the hard line to the charcoal canister when I got my bus. There is a acvw garage by where I used to live. I've seen them there a few times on busses they'd have on their lifts.

I've always been reluctant to pull my sparkplug wire ends off to put it on. Once I did this by accident and just stuck the wire back in. -drove it for like a week that way, but thought I should get new wires then. -this seems like the only way to get the piece on. The end 'loop' unplugs from the socket at the end; there are 2 pointy spades that go in.

[mandodave]

I am jumping the top 2 middle connectors.

There are 2 big red wires (one with a red stripe)- they go into the wire loom so I am not sure which is which. But one pretty quickly makes it to the battery and the other to the starter.

I did not add any wires except the 2 coming from the switch.

[rustbus]

[mandodave]

One thing I did do in my '72 was to put remote starting button back there

[raygreenwood]

The pickup used at 19 and 20 IIRC...is a timing pickup. It is an inductive ring with a two prong plug about 17mm in diamter. It slips around the #1 plug wire and is used for checking timing with the diagnostic system without hooking up a timing light.

A good source for "American " wire is Del City wire http://www.delcity.net/ Made in Del City Oklahoma, outside Oklahoma city. Good products.
Also...you can buy excellent quality wire at McMaster Carr http://www.mcmaster.com/#
Ray

[Desertbusman]

Not sure about a '72. A '71 has the 1 steel tube running up the right side. All the harness runs inside a plastic loom and that then is inside the steel tube. It pretty much fills up the tube with very little extra room. I've never heard of the mickey mouse split loom comming from the factory. I had a bunch of new wires to run and put them in a split loom, taped together every few inches. It was too mickey mouse so I tore it out right away. There were a set of round holes going thru all the crossmembers right near the stock steel tube. So i used a black vinyl tube from Lowes. Seems like it was 1/2" ID. And pulled a bundle of wires thru it using a long piece of rigid wire. Then ran it thru the frame holes. Ace Hardware had auto wire but maybe not now. With all my connectors, including the original ones, I crimp, solder, and cover with shrink tubing. It needed a new hole up front to get up to the cowl under the kick panels.
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71 Superbug
71 Westy

[SGKent]

the stuff we see in the all the flaps now is chinese. Even the connectors. It is like a huge vacuum picked up all the American wire and sank it to the bottom of the sea. You might be able to find some good quality belden wire from old automotive shops who have a rack that is 10 years old. Or find something online if you are lucky. We went 1 size up on wire because it was chinese - and I try to route things so they can't rub. Pieces of rubber fuel line sliced make great insulators around bends where wire can rub. If it can it will.
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Canned Water - the new California approved parts cleaner (except in a drought in which case rub it with sand).

George Carlin:
"Most people don't know what they're doing, and a lot of them are really good at it."

Skills@EuroCarsPlus:
"never time to do it right but always time to do it twice"

[nathansnathan]

"Split loom" as it's called and what is pictured, is supposed to be like that. It goes around. It's about the only thing at an electronics store that seems remotely appropriate. I used it to run my gauge wires a few years ago. At places in combination with electrical tape. it's alright but I'd like it to be better, especially since after that I had to run like 2 more that are just exposed.

My plan was to get a lot of heat shrink. Still though, probably not as good as a full on auto grade solution. Also, hardware store wire gets pretty crappy with heat and exposure, not to mention oil.

I'd thought of getting wire from a bus, though that is 30 years old, and you'd think I could find better wire?

I have a 72, so no loom is available. I'd be a bit suspect of it if there was even. Maybe I will look for aviation spec wire. If it's worth doing...

[SGKent]

what I do when that happens is buy several different sizes of quality heat shrink tubing and use the soldering iron to make good solid patches. I put two heat shrinl pieces on each one - two different sizes so it is well insulated. If you have a 1971 then I think new looms are available for it. If it is later you have to find a donor and cut out the section that you need and splice.
_________________
Canned Water - the new California approved parts cleaner (except in a drought in which case rub it with sand).

George Carlin:
"Most people don't know what they're doing, and a lot of them are really good at it."

Skills@EuroCarsPlus:
"never time to do it right but always time to do it twice"

[nathansnathan]

[SGKent]

[nathansnathan]

I have been thinking of the next step to the front to back wiring. Good call on actually using the factory tube. The split loom that I have is in need of an upgrade. I know some of mine is now all stiff and brittle. Where would you reccomend getting 'good' wire from?

[SGKent]

you are talking about the CYL TEMP gauge? You can splice into it as long as you stay away from the cold junction.

I have a wire fish, the type electricians use. I slide it through the tube where the harness is on the passenger side. The harness takes up maybe 40% of the space. The rest is empty and unused. Then I pull a piece of twine, tape it to the end of my new wires which I have already bundled maybe every foot with electricans tape. Then I pull it through. Wire tie it to the exisiting harness and up through the floor. Recaulk everything. I get good grade wires, fresh wires with no cracking, and I don't drive myself nuts spending hours trying to locate a harness wire somewhere in the middle of a wire loom. I cam leave three or four feet extra on the end and cut to length.
_________________
Canned Water - the new California approved parts cleaner (except in a drought in which case rub it with sand).

George Carlin:
"Most people don't know what they're doing, and a lot of them are really good at it."

Skills@EuroCarsPlus:
"never time to do it right but always time to do it twice"

[nathansnathan]

Seems like kind of the place to ask this, but the diagnostic wire that goes to the sparkplug wire, it is a closed circle, so how was it that you would get the wire through?

[busdaddy]

[rcrjacob]

Not on mine. My harness is in the tube on the passenger side.

[SGKent]

look on the passenger side at the back. The tube is there in case it becomes a RHD model.
_________________
Canned Water - the new California approved parts cleaner (except in a drought in which case rub it with sand).

George Carlin:
"Most people don't know what they're doing, and a lot of them are really good at it."

Skills@EuroCarsPlus:
"never time to do it right but always time to do it twice"

[rcrjacob]

[busdaddy]

[rcrjacob]

Isn't that a 73 model?