reverse lights always on

[kayakmaster]

Almost done with my conversion, we got the engine to start and it was purring soo nice. pretty quiet, very smooth, hardley any vibration. It appears that we only have three issues to resolve. The alternator is wired correctly, we think, but does not appear to be charging vehicle. It has a dual battery set up which was done by a shop by the original owner and maybe we disconnected something that we shouldn't have, so we will have to play around with that and figure that out. And For some reason the reverse lights are coming on when the key is in the on position and stays on when we start the car. I tried reversing the two wires at the tranny but that had no effect. My buddy said that maybe it was not put back together right at the tranny shop as I had it completley rebuilt and changed the ratios of third and fourth gear. I think it is us maybe having some wiring other than at the tranny not connected right. I believe we also have two figure out a spot to get vacuum out of the motor to hook up my syncro locker system as we have not hooked up anything to accomplish that, additionally I am not sure which tube/s to connect for that system to work as well.

That's the update, Starting work today after three months off ( because of the writers strike ) I will be working six days a week about 80 hours so work on the van is definitley going to slow to a crawl but on the bright side, it is in and running
_________________
Jack

'87 GL Syncro (conversion)

[bucko]

What color is the small wire that connects to the alternator? Not the large red wire (wich connects alternator to starter, then to positive post of battery)...

There should be a small (18 gauge?) wire to the alternator that "energizes" the field windings. If this wire is not connected, the "BATT" dash LED should be glowing.

I'm wondering if someone reversed the backup light and alternator field wires....
_________________
Current VW drives: 1984 Westfalia

Past VW drives: 1967 Beetle, 1973 Beetle, 1977 Bus, 1971 Military Type 181

[Christopher Schimke]

Hey, congrats on getting the thing running. What did you end up doing with the TGVs?

Do the back-up lights stay on if you disconnect the wires from the switch on the gearbox? If so, that would tell you that the back-up lights are wired to something other than the back-up light switch.

If the back-up lights go out when you disconnect the wires, that would indicate a faulty switch. The switch itself simply completes the curcuit between the black/gray wire and the black/blue wire (according to the Bentley diagram).

I'm not sure if there is a way that the selector shaft in gearbox could be assembled in such a way as to cause the switch to be activated all the time or not. I don't think so, but maybe someone else who has more experience with this can chime in.
_________________
"Sometimes you have to build a box to think outside of." - Bruce (not Springsteen)

*Custom wheel hardware for Audi/VW, Porsche and Mercedes wheels - Urethane Suspension Bushings*
T3Technique.com or contact me at [email protected]

[Vanagon Nut]

[charlesnj]

Hello, I don't know if this is your case but when I replaced the tranny on my 85 Westy I forgot to put the washer under the reverse light switch. Without the washer the switch goes in to far and causes it to always be on.

[kayakmaster]

thanks for the suggestions, I will check it out this Sunday, that will be my next chance to do anything to the van. Loogy we drilled out and removed the restrictor plates in the tgv system leaving the rest in tact. We figured if there were no restrictor plates the system would have no effect. you guys gave me some ideas about the reverse lights and the alternator issues does anyone have an idea about what I have to connect to make sure that my locker system is getting the vacuum it needs to operate. We used the intake manifold to create vacuum for the brake booster and could probably use it for the locker system as well but I have no idea which plastic tube I need to connect as some of the plastic tubes are vent lines. Unfortunately this might be a syncro only question. Your thoughts are appreciated
_________________
Jack

'87 GL Syncro (conversion)

[MarkMoore]

Many years after these posts were made, I was able to benefit from them! I recently was stopped by a police officer and cited for my back-up lights being constantly on. After I had returned home, still puzzled about those lights being on, I did some internet searching which eventually led to the useful post of charlesnj about the washer having not been put under the reverse light switch. I checked and found that this washer was missing on my vehicle. It seemed to me to be an unlikely cause of the problem, but after I installed an appropriate washer, my back-up lights one again worked and shut off properly! My transmission had been rebuilt many months previously, and I suppose that the rebuilder may have failed to install the washer at that time. I am grateful for this information from charlesnj, and for the convenience of The Samba!

[wehrbüchse]

[AndyBees]

[Sodo]

[wehrbüchse]

[AndyBees]