1979 VW bay window alternator

[PYTHON T2]

Hey everyone, We, my husband and I, are proud new owners of a 1979 T2 VW bus. It has a 2.0L Porsche engine ( less than 100 miles on it). I have no clue what type of alternator it has or if it has ever been replaced. We are having an issue with the alternator not charging the battery like it should. There was an EGR light on the dash and it lost all power. We got her home and the battery was dead, we jumped the battery and she started right up. Checked the battery while running and not getting just over 11 volts. I know just enough, but clearly not enough to figure this out. I did note there are wires going to nowhere and they are connected to the alternator. Previous owner just unplugged and let them hang there. My question is (after research) are we supposed to have a voltage regulator? My thinking is we are supposed to and this is the cause of the battery not charging? Of note the guy we bought it from said he replaced the battery just before we arrived to pick it up.

[WhirledTraveller]

The *Volkswagen* 2.0L engine was stock on the bus but people love to say it's a "Porsche Engine" because Porsche used basically the same engine on some 912/914's from that era.

That looks like the stock alternator - 55Amp Bosch AL75X.

The plug is supposed to be attached to a voltage regulator that should be screwed onto the firewall. Hopefully all you have to do is reattach it.

Some light reading for you...

https://www.ratwell.com/technical/ChargingSystem.html
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1977 Westy, Automatic. Big Valve heads, CS Cam.

[PYTHON T2]

Thanks! Looked like a stock alternator to me too.... but I am just learning about these and don't want to screw it up. Figures they would just remove the regulator and wait for the next owner to fix it. Haha There were some questionable wiring done, I've slowly been tracing, cleaning and making sure the connections were secured.

[jtauxe]

This does not answer your question, but be prepared for lots of work on this bus. It's true of all "new to you" buses (read my bit on what to go through*) but in this case, the previous owner sounds like a BS artist.

100 miles on the engine? Who rebuilds an engine and doesn't bother to clean it?

New battery just you before you bought it? What prompted that? With the wire disconnected from the voltage regulator, I suspect something to do with the charging system not working. Definitely fishy.

And even that it is a 1979... I could be wrong, but I do not think that VW sold orange buses in 1979. What is the VIN, which is stamped into the body on the left side of the engine compartment and is also on the dashboard on a little riveted plate.

* https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=722378
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John
"Travelling in a fried-out Kombi, on a hippie trail, head full of zombie..." - Colin Hay and Ron Strykert
http://vw.tauxe.net
1969 Transporter, 1971 Westfalia, 1976, 1977, 1976, 1977, 1971, 1973, 1977 Westfalias,
1979 Champagne Sunroof, 1974 Westfalia Automatic, 1979 Transporter, 1972 Sportsmobile, 1973 Transporter Wild Westerner, 1974 Westfalia parts bus, 1975 Mexican single cab *FOR SALE*, 1978 Irish 4-door double cab RHD

[Jcolton]

Hi! Welcome to the world of 1979 bay windows

I’ve had mine for 4 years and I learn something new every day.

I’m not anywhere near the expert that others on this forum are, but I’d say for pretty sure those loose wires are not supposed to be hanging around like that..

There are others here with a lot more knowledge who can tell you a whole lot more but I thought I’d kick things off for you with a picture since I’ve got the same bus.

That loose harness is not loose in my engine compartment and while I’m not sure exactly what it’s connected to, it’s does seem pretty certain to go somewhere on my right rear engine compartment. I do have a direct connection on my battery (see heavy red wire in photo) as well.

Here’s a link to the complete wiring diagram from our bus that is in the Bentley (if you don’t have a Bentley, get one).

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/info/wiring/baybus_79_color.jpg

Good luck and sorry I can’t be more helpful / definitive!
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1979 Westy

[WhirledTraveller]

[Jcolton]

In addition to that helpful list of “to do items” (that I still haven’t finished) and finding and decoding your VIN, I also found it really helpful to find and decode my M plate. Here are some photos of the plate itself

It’s located under the dash in a kind of awkward place but you’ll find it if you get Google to help. Here’s a link to decoder http://www.vw-mplate.com/index.php

You can also find helpful info on your drivers door stickers (like manufacture date and emissions equipment). More photos

Good luck!
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1979 Westy

[PYTHON T2]

Little by little I will get her cleaned up and at the risk of sounding ignorant will probably be asking a lot of questions. I hate that the previous owner half completed things. I do have part of the heating but will be purchasing new due to holes in the riser elbows an

d control flap.

[PYTHON T2]

There are so many random things here!
That random blue wire from above is from the ignition coil.

Non secured wiring harness left side engine bay

Hose hooked up to nothing

Another hooked up on the back of the distributer and no

where else.

Kinda mad at the PO.

[Jcolton]

So again, people smarter than me are going to weigh in on this, but here’s a zoomed out photo of my engine compartment.

You’ll see that I don’t have anything like that big metal box that’s sticking up from the center of your engine. That’s because my motor is still fuel injected.

I’m guessing that that big metal thing sticking up on top of your engine is a carburetor. And so a lot of those loose bits you are finding are very likely leftovers from your former fuel injection system. There enough of them that I was originally going to ask if you were able to drive home

If I have even one or two loose hoses like that, my engine won’t run.

Also - in the center of that second photo, there’s a number stamped on your cooling shroud. If you note that number, you can send it and your vin in to VW Germany and they will tell you whether or not your engine is still the one that shipped with your bus. They’ll also do a nice job of decoding your m plate. Cost me about $75 at the time.
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1979 Westy

[PYTHON T2]

You're correct. It is no longer fuel injection, that's the carborator. I Aam REALLY REALLY hoping most of the "extra" is due to them no longer being needed. We did drive it home, in fact runs quite nicely except the battery drain.

[dodger tom]

[westy]

The semi flexible hose, coming out of the drivers side fire wall, looks as if it's the power brake line, which needs to be attached to the intake system of your motor. Your fuel injection system would have had a place for it. Your carb may not. Without this properly attached, you don't have power brakes that you should have with a 4000ish lb vehicle

The hose that looks like it comes from your vacuum canister on the distributor, needs to be connected to the carburetor, IF your carb has a connecting port

The oval hole, where you adjust the alternator for tension on the belt is suppose to have a cover so to keep air from escaping through it

https://airheadparts.com/vw-part/alternator-hole-cap-021-119-295/

The oval hole, on your passenger side (and the circular hole on the driver side) just in FRONT of the alternator, would have been used for the intake of the fuel injection. It needs to be plugged up somehow, otherwise you're letting warm air into your engine compartment.

If you have a 1979 camper Bus, then there is a very high chance of your alternator being a 70 amp.

Hope this helps
Congrats on the purchase, but there are a lot of little details everyone is seeing in your compartment.
Learn what they are and fix them before one of them bites you

Good luck and have fun with it
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...everyone has something to teach you.

Support our troops. Not all injuries are visible ones.

[westy]

[PYTHON T2]

Sounds like we need to go back to fuel injected. The carborator has no place for these. There are two hoses off the distributor, one is connected to the carb... the other is just kind of hanging out.

Thank you all so much for the help! Keep it coming! I can fix some of this fairly easily but the power break without the place to hook it up makes that a no go.

I was able to get all the lights working.... bonus! Haha

[WhirledTraveller]

Unfortunately as I suspected this is quite a hack job... someone threw this together with the absolute minimum effort to get it to run and out the door.

The good news is that the GE code engine is correct for your bus, and might be the original.

And from what I can see the bus looks pretty rust free. That's the most important thing.

The progressive carburator is "fine" and is the choice of people who ... want to do the bare minimum to make it run. And it should run fine assuming someone did some tuning. There is the potential for some issues in cold/humid weather due to icing, but I wouldn't be in a big rush to ditch it and return to fuel injection. Fuel injection is better but not in any way that's truly important, but sourcing all the parts and learning how they all work together is a lot of work. 1979 is a particularly complex setup particularly since it appears to be originally a California model which originally had a Catalytic converter, an O2 sensor, and whole other host of differences from every other bus ever made. The only reason to return to the original CA setup is if you live in CA.

The distributor *does* appear to be hooked up to vacuum advance. You have a "DVDA" (Dual vacuum dual advance) distributor... I think that's correct for a 1979 CA model... having only one hose hooked up should be OK if it's timed correctly. But that needs to be verified. If it's running nicely, don't mess with it yet.

The vacuum brake boost *really should be hooked up* otherwise stopping the bus in an emergency is potentially dangerous. I don't know how it's supposed to attach to a single progressive carb but I'm sure people have done it and you can do a little searching.

The Voltage regulator is supposed to be screwed into the firewall, high up, and on the passenger side.
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1977 Westy, Automatic. Big Valve heads, CS Cam.

[dodger tom]

^^^^^^^

going back to fi might be very complicated, depending on how many of the pieces have been left in place. some are clearly missing. so much to do, and much more to check on. getting the alternator working, brakes, suspension, electrical, steering, transaxle, clutch, fuel hoses (shoulda been higher on the list), vacuum hoses, hooking up the heating system, plugging the various holes in the engine compartment, getting the interior in shape, treating rust, you get the idea?

there are ways to make the booster work with a carb, but other more knowledgeable souls will have to tell you how.

start with the important stuff, learn your bus, and maybe go back to fi when everything else works, depending on smog rules in tenn.

just my opinion.
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1978 Champaign Edition 2 Westfalia
Would never find the time to keep up another classic air-cooled.

[westy]

[PYTHON T2]

It runs great (aside from the draining battery, but I think that will be sorted when we get the voltage regulator... thanks guys), I am not opposed to keeping the carb, in my county in TN I don't even have to go through emissions. I do above all else want to be sure it's safe. There is definitely things that can be corrected quickly with all of the help here. I looked at all the wiring diagrams and will be able to make sure it is corrected there. If anyone has tips on making sure the brake system is hooked up correctly, I would be very appreciative.

I did get a new wiring harness in case it was too far gone, I don't think I am there yet but do have it for later. This is really a labor of love.

[dodger tom]

there are threads that discuss hooking up a brake booster to carbs. i think you might need a vacuum check valve, too.

here’s some places to start. learning to use the search function herein will be invaluable..

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/search.php?searc...=titleonly

by the way, where does that blue wire from the coil end up?
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1978 Champaign Edition 2 Westfalia
Would never find the time to keep up another classic air-cooled.