Replacing 1971 ignition electrical switch

[KTPhil]

I finally am getting around to editing and posting pictures from my ignition switch replacement on my '71 fastback.

The general process is similar for other years, but the switch and wiring are unique to '71.

The short version is to remove the steering wheel, unplug and unscrew everything, pull off the whole column/switch assembly, then disassemble. Replace the electrical switch, assemble, and re-install everything.

The process below is overkill but it makes it easy to see what you are doing in tight spots. I suppose it is possible to just extract the ignition switch with all else in place, but only if you already know what you are doing. Anyone tried it that way? Not me, so here’s the long way. Also, I had to replace my housing and check my turn signal switch, too, so it all had to come out anyway.

I bought the switch for a '71 Bug, part number 111 905 865F. It is different than the OEM Type 3 switch in that (1) it has a plastic housing instead of metal and bakelite, and (2) the wires are longer and use conventional spade connectors instead of the tricky multi-prong connector (MPC). The plastic wire insulation is color-coded right, though it is a little thinner than OEM in some cases. The wires themselves seem to be the correct gauge.

It does, however, perform fine and has the critical X-connector that allows the headlights to turn off when you remove the key.

So here's how you go about it. I don't have photos for every step, and I'll probably edit this in the next few days to improve it. I am also doing this from memory and may correct a few things during this time. So give this a week to settle down before you take yours apart! You may want your Bentley manual for some steps.

1) Disconnect the battery ground cable.

2) Pop off the horn button, and carefully remove the three screws holding the horn ring on. These are spring-loaded and there is a small toothed washer under there, so don't lose any parts! VERY fine thread on these so be careful.

3) Disconnect the horn wire on the hub.

4) Remove the large nut holding the steering wheel on. I forget the size but I am thinking 30mm?

5) Now take a scribe or fine marker and make matching marks on the steering wheel hub and the steering column shaft. I also like to center the steering wheel, so insert the key if needed to unlock it, and turn it to center. Remove the key, pull off the steering wheel. Next, remove the large circlip retaining the steering column assembly. Needle nose pliers and screwdrivers can get it off but you have to be careful.

Now you see this:

Hopefully you have been careful and have not broken any pieces of the turn signal switch, which is also a '71-only part.

6) Pull off the two MPCs, one for the turn signal switch, one for the ignition switch.

7) Carefully remove the four screws holding the turn signal switch on. You can do it later but it’s easier now while the housing is firmly in place, rather than on the work bench.

8) Remove the two Phillips screws holding the plastic cover over the bottom of the housing. Next remove the two hex-head cap screws holding the housing to the body of the car. There is one more capscrew holding a built-in clamp of the housing to the steering column; loosen or remove it. At this point you should be able to yank the whole column assembly back and off the steering shaft. Here’s the part number if this also-1971-only part(!):

Don’t be surprised if your clamp portion is cracked or even broken free of the main column housing. Fixing that, or the shear assembly, is beyond the scope of this thread, but may be covered later separately.

9) Now on the workbench, inspect the housing, and note the MPC holding the ignition wires at the bottom corner of the housing:

Look carefully at the little circle below.

It is part of the MPC plastic housing and this holds it in place, so you don’t want to break it off!

10) Now you have to remove the plastic housing of the MPC and take it apart. Press the little circle and slide the MPC to the side (NOT straight back—it wont go that way). It may separate into two pieces like this one did.

11) Pull the two halves apart like so:

Note the wire colors while the wires are still in the little slots of the plastic MPC housing. Check my pictures carefully and be sure they match.

12) The X-terminal will be engaged in one half:

This is removed by inserting a small jewelers screwdriver as follows, while then tugging on the tab to unstick it, then push it inward towards the wire end and slide it out of the plastic holder.

By the way, this general removal process is used several places in the car for ‘captive push on terminals” such as in the headlamp socket and the FI connectors.

The other wires can now fall out of the slots in the other half.

13) Pop off the little plastic caps over the screws holding the little retainer for the ignition mechanical switch. Remove the screws, and remove the holder piece.

14) Now you use the Bentley procedure and insert the ignition key and slightly turn it, which will soon allow you to pull out the switch assembly towards the key end. Press a jewelers screwdriver into the little hole in the housing, grab the key and pull back. With all those wires, you may need to push on the wire end as you pull on the key end. Eventually it should all be drawn out of the column housing.

15) …if you are lucky, that is. If you are unlucky like I was, this now breaks the electrical part of the switch, taking half of it with the mechanical switch, and leaving the other half inside the column housing. No matter, we are replacing it anyway.

Here are the removed parts of mine, laid out on the bench. You can see the two parts of the broken electrical switch at left.

Get all the pieces out the key end, then remove the tiny screw that holds the electrical part to the mechanical part.

16) So here are the old and new switches together:

Here are the wires:

If you choose to make it stock, you will be cutting these wires, crimping on OEM-style locking connectors, and futzing with the two tiny ones. I salvaged the little male tabs using a knife blade and tiny screwdrivers to open them up and manually crimp them onto the new switch wires.

If this scares you, then skip all the steps below about the MPC and just run the wires to the various connections the body (female) half of the MPC leads to.

17) After you cut and crimp all the wires, you assemble the mechanical and electrical pieces together, lining up the tiny little hole on the mechanical part with the threaded tab on the electrical part. Insert the special stepped screw, and tighten it very carefully. Now insert the whole assembly, wires first, into the column housing. A little lube will help. Electrical tape holding the wires together may help keep the spade ends from catching on the guts of the column housing.

18) Now that the wires are accessible again out the back end of the housing, set them into the two halves of the MPC housing like so:

It takes some twisting and bending of wires to get them to stay in place in the one half, and you push the X-terminal tab through the other half. It matters if you have them twisted 180 degrees out of correct; you won’t get the MPC back together if you get it wrong.

19) Push the two MPC halves together, getting all the male spades to get into the proper slots in the X-terminal half. It’s a PITA with big hands, but get it together. It may want to pop apart, and if it does, make one layer of electrical tape wrap around the MPC.

20) Once the whole (elec/mech) switch assembly is pushed in all the way, it clicks into place. Install the little holder with the two screws and the black plastic screw caps.

21) Remember that little plastic tab on the X-terminal half? Slide the MPC sideways into the column housing, being careful not to break that off. (By "sideways" I mean from the top of the photo below, down towards the bottom-- opposite of the removal).

It’s fragile and you have to work the MPC into the slot until the little tab pops into the hole. It’s still very fragile at this point. Here’s how it goes together:

If your tab is broken off, it will still work, and the pinch of the MPC into the column housing will keep the wires together. But when you plug and unplug the car half of the MPC pair, it may want to slide fore and aft and make connection difficult.

22) Now backtrack and reinstall the column housing on the steering shaft (don’t forget the large C-clip), the three capscrews (only loosely at this point), then put back the turn signal switch.

23) Center the steering wheel and slide it on, lining up your scribe or pen marks, and put the washer and nut on and torque it down.

24) Now slide the column housing forward or backward until you get the proper (2-3mm?) gap between the steering wheel and the turn signal switch. Now tighten down the pair of capscrews holding the housing to the dash underneath, and only then the third capscrew on the clamp portion.

25) Now connect the horn wire, put on the horn bar with the three screws (in the proper order with springs and toothed washers), and pop on the cap.

26) Very carefully, slide on the MPC connectors from the car to the column housing. It is easy to bend one or more of the thin male connectors if they aren’t lined up, so straighten the first and FINESSE, don’t force them on.

Now comes the moment of truth… turn the key and see if your baby starts!

27) It didn't? Of course not! That's because you haven't reconnected your battery ground cable. But I wanted you to try the mechanical switch first to know it isn't binding anywhere. Free to turn on and off? Then connect the battery, and try it again. You're done!

[vwsplitvan]

Worth making this a sticky for all us 71 owners.

Nice job Phil. Good to know that a bug switch is an option.
_________________
SBS #20 UK

RHD 62 Ragtop Beetle Beryl Green
LHD 69 Squareback Peru Green
LHD 63 Splitscreen Highroof Pearl White

[Donnie strickland]

[KTPhil]

[76sealingwaxred]

Anyone following this post have a source for a 1971 only turn signal switch. The car I bought was in storage and was broken into and damaged both the ignition switch and turn signal switch. I repaired the ignition but would like a direct fitting turn signal switch. Any help would be welcomed.

Thanks
Jim

[KTPhil]

What broke? I hear the plastic parts of the cancel mechanism (what usually breaks first) is the same as the Bug's switch parts, and of course those are cheaper. Cannibalizing the two to make one good T3 switch should be possible. I haven't tackled that task yet.

[Zefr60]

Thank you. I have just purchased a 71 square back, my very first type 3, so I know very little about them. The ignition switch was playing up and this thread has been invaluable. Without it I could not have pulled the whole thing apart.
Just 2 quick questions;
1. Mine does not have the brown/blue wire (so only 5 wires in total), what does that wire do?
2. You mention to torque down the steering wheel nut, what is the torque setting?

Sorry to ask questions I am sure are probably elsewhere on this site, but being new I am still working it out but I want to fix the ignition today

[Donnie strickland]

The brown/blue wire is the ground for the ignition key buzzer.

I don't recall what the torque is for the steering wheel, and my Bentley manual isn't where I can look it up.
_________________
71 Elm Green FI A/T Squareback

[KTPhil]

Steering wheel nut is tightened to 36 ft. lbs.

The wiring diagrams in the Technical section here will help you.

[bobhill8]

You guys are the real deal. Thanks for the quick response AND for taking the time to make such a detailed sticky so I can understand this and make it work properly again.

[garylatl]

Hi, I just purchased a 1971 Type 3 Fastback. One of the prior owners had replaced the steering wheel with an aftermarket wheel and added an aftermarket ignition switch under the dash. They have cut all of the wires off of the turn signal indicator switch as well as the original ignition switch. The housing that contains the steering lock is broken. There are not plastic wire harness connectors, either.

I need to find a replacement ignition switch, housing, harness and turn signal indicator switch. I have found some online, but some sites say they will work while others indicate they will not. I would send pics, but there is nothing left to show except the broken housing with the part number 111 905 851 L.

I would like to restore this car, but wiring is not my best suit, so if anyone can provide a source that I can use to get the right parts, I would appreciate it. I don't have to have the harness connectors as I can splice the wires and conceal them.

Thank you!
Gary

[KTPhil]

I've seen them come up in the classifieds occasionally.
Also, there is some interchangeability if you trade out the whole assembly. I think the '70 setup can work, though you lose the "turn lights off when you pull the key" function that came with the "X" terminal in '71. Depending on how patient and authentic you want to be, that might be an option.

[garylatl]

I'm not concerned about the headlights turning off when the switch is off. I cannot even brighten/dim them with the turn signal now. As long as the ignition switch and turn signal look original, I can deal with the wiring.

[KTPhil]

The plastic connector is just a convenience, not a necessity. It allows for the column removal without fishing a bunch of wires. If you are handy with wiring, you can make other years work without getting the 1-year-only bits. Maybe post up some pics of what's there now (showing the wiring especially) and we might have suggestions.

[garylatl]

These are the pics of the turn signal/headlight dimmer switch and the ignition switch (or what is left of each). As you can see, the wires have been cut on the back of the turn signal switch, and the housing for the ignition switch has been broken off at the end. The ignition key switch is missing the tab needed for the ignition wires, and someone put a penny over the key hole. There are no wire connectors of any kind left. The part number on the housing is 111 905 851 L. I'm not even sure this is the right one for my car. The steering lock (which is also missing) is round in this one and looks square in the pics in the post above.

Where can I find the correct housing for the ignition switch?

[KTPhil]

Wow, that has really been hacked. You may have better luck changing out the whole column assembly intact, rather than piecemealing almost everything.

Lately I've seen a few '71 only turn signal switches from the classifieds, maybe $150 or so, but I'm not seeing them now. But you need the column, too, so that's just the beginning.

Check these ads:
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=2049717
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=2094218


Or try PM'ing Joel (Boo-Koo-Z) and see if he can pull a whole column off, hopefully from a '71. He's also got the turn signal wiring separate:
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=1982640

Or search for column parts here:
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/search.php...ton=Search
Some pricey NOS, some cheap, but I bet you find what you want here, including many '71-vintage parts.

[Mario Steinhauser]

I don’t want to crash the thread, i’ve asked Phil if I can leave this here...

If you want to replace your switch with a NOS one, here’s your chance:
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=2187365

Thank you!

Regards,
Mario / T3HQ

[sjbartnik]

With regard to the large nut holding the steering wheel, on my car it is 27mm.

I would expect that's one of those things that didn't change too much over the years.
_________________
1965 Volkswagen 1500 Variant S
2000 Kawasaki W650

[chrima]

Anybody know where I can get the female side of the plug that connects to the male plug from the ignition on the steering column? (see pictures from original post step 9-11)

This would be for a 71 Fastback. It comes from the main harness I know that much. The original was cut off when I purchased the car.

I know I could wire in some after market plug, but hoping to avoid that.


Here is my Fastback. It's pretty much all original.

[EasternNotch]