License plate light

[jrob83046]

License plate not working on my 70 VW. The blub was bad. I replaced that and hooked it up directly to a battery I have. The light works. The wires were cut and it wasn't hooked up. I found the wires behind the fan shroud but no power to them. I had really not rather try to run the problem down. My question is would it be alright to the coil the hot coil wire. When I turn the ignition on the light would be on. Just wondering if this would be a problem. Thanks

[Cusser]

The license plate light feed comes from a connector behind the tarboard on the right hand side, and the license light also needs its ground wire connected.

Do you have operational tail lights??? You could wire to those, it's the same circuit. If no tail lights working, investigate those first, bigger safety issue. Each side has its own ground connection tab, behind the tarboards.
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1970 VW (owned since 1972) and 1971 VW Convertible (owned since 1976), second owner of each. The '71 now has the 1835 engine, swapped from the '70. Second owner of each. 1988 Mazda B2200 truck, 1998 Frontier, 2014 Yukon, 2004 Frontier King Cab. All manual transmission except for the Yukon. http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=335294 http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=335297

[KTPhil]

[Cusser]

[ashman40]

Not sure why, but many people find that the PO disconnected their reverse lights. The reverse light wires are black and sit in front of (front being front of car) the fan shroud. Are you maybe confusing the license plate lamp wires with the reverse light wires?

As Cusser pointed out, the license plate lamp is basically a second right rear parking light. In the below pic of the right side taillight wiring junction...

You can see two junctions, the 6-wire junction and a 3-wire Y-junction. The Y-junction is where the single grey/red wire splits into a grey wire that runs to the taillight and a grey/blue wire that runs to power the license plate lamp. The grey/blue wire eventually meets up with a solid brown wire which is a ground wire. These two wires run to the license plate lamp. Make sure you don't mix them up anywhere along the way. If you accidentally connect the grey/blue wire to the ground position on the license plate lamp assembly it could directly short the power wire to ground and cause the fuse to blow.
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AshMan40
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'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!}

[jrob83046]

I do have tail lights. No back up lights. I do have a fuse coming off the coil. I will check the wiring by the picture shown. I would like to fix it right. The wiring looks pretty well stock to me. I will post what I find. Thanks for the help.

[ashman40]

Post some pics. The fuse coming off the ignition coil #15 (+) terminal normally runs to the reverse light switch at the front nose cone of the transmission before splitting to the left/right reverse lights in the taillight assemblies. All of these wires were black right up to the taillight junction where they turned into blue wires that ran to the reverse lamp in the taillight assembly.
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AshMan40
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'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!}

[KTPhil]

Old reverse light switches tend to short out, typically leading to instant ignition kill when shifted into reverse. Most folks don't understand the circuit and either remove the fuse or cut the wire so it will run.

They are relatively cheap and easy to replace, with minimal oil spillage.

[Cusser]

[jrob83046]

I hate to say I'm a idiot but when it comes to electrical i am really close. Lol. That is a weak point I have always had.

[Starbucket]

I can't believe ashman40 posted a pic with a house hold wire nut and not saying never use one of these in your car.

[Cusser]

[jrob83046]

Got it. I was looking at the wrong two wires behind the fan. I found two that had been cut. Checked for power with the lights on and had it. Like I said the wires had been cut at one point. I hooked them back up and it works fine. Thanks for the suggestions.