Samba Member
Joined: April 08, 2019
Posts: 118
Location: Austin, TX
Posted: Sun Jun 02, 2024 6:21 pm Post subject: started bus after 4 years of working on it - good and bad news | |
Folks, its been 4+ years off/on working on this bus, posting here and really grateful for all the support. Today I finally put in some gas to give it a start. here is the good and the bad: Good: Bad: I'm attaching some photos. I think the issue *might* have been that I hadn't reconnected all the lights back, and some of the wires that were hanging might have shorted. Needless to say, I don't want to go through this again, so looking for advice. In hindsight I should have had the forethought to see this happening, but didn't ... BTW, on a modern car, fuses would have blown instead, is there a way to retrofit fuses in pertinent places to prevent this from happening? Please see pics _________________ 1978 Westfalia Champagne Edition Project |
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Samba Member
Joined: March 01, 2004
Posts: 15181
Location: Syracuse, NY
Posted: Sun Jun 02, 2024 7:22 pm Post subject: Re: started bus after 4 years of working on it - good and bad news | |||
even these old vws had the lights fused it appears that your bus had a 2nd battery installed at one time and that the combining relay shorted out over there strapped to the DS battery ground cable. this is(was) one of those loose ends that should be investigated and tied up when 1st applying power (battery and/or fuel) to a vehicle that's sat beyond memory/knowledge of it's last status. good news is you can add any and all the fuses you like while you rewire the back of the bus. I do like to add fuses in the back for my taillights in a separate fuse block when I redo a van or bus.. since the rear is where one is looking when investigating a taillight failure anyways.. and protects the front of the harness in event of a issue.
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Samba Member
Joined: April 08, 2019
Posts: 118
Location: Austin, TX
Posted: Sun Jun 02, 2024 8:46 pm Post subject: Re: started bus after 4 years of working on it - good and bad news | |
Any help on what a combining relay does and how the 2nd battery was supposed to be wired? Im not quite following. Also how do I assess the total extent of damage to the wiring? _________________ 1978 Westfalia Champagne Edition Project |
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Samba Member
Joined: July 02, 2012
Posts: 2815
Location: Hamble, Hampshire, UK
Posted: Mon Jun 03, 2024 4:26 am Post subject: Re: started bus after 4 years of working on it - good and bad news | |
It is unfused Previous Owner wiring. It looks like it was run alongside stock wiring . Anywhere it looks like it melted into insulation needs a careful dissection to check it has not shorted other wiring. The rather small combining relay and the wires beyond up to the point that the loose wire should have gone to the positive of the house battery will be melted.. The relay was energised when the alternator D+ line went to 12 volts. Its intent is to provide charging for the house battery from the starter battery when the engine is running. That is when the loose wires were energised, one going to 12 volts, intended for the battery positive , the other was a battery ground for the house battery. If you are unlucky, the melting could have shorted out the D+ around the relay and now your alternator needs repair. Next time get some insulating tape and wrap it over loose ends.. There should always be fuses in any added wiring to protect thinner wires , with the fuse near a positive feed from a larger diameter wire. 1974 VW T2 : Devon Eurovette camper with 1641 DP T1 engine, Progressive carb, full flow oil cooler, EDIS crank timed ignition. 1979 Westerly GK24 24 foot racer/cruiser yacht Forethought of Gosport. |
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Samba Member
Joined: April 08, 2019
Posts: 118
Location: Austin, TX
Posted: Mon Jun 03, 2024 5:43 am Post subject: Re: started bus after 4 years of working on it - good and bad news | |
Thanks for the explanation. Is the combining relay also part of the non-factory wiring? What does combining mean? If it is factory I need some reference so I can try to locate it in a wiring diagram and figure out a replacement. Thanks again _________________ 1978 Westfalia Champagne Edition Project |
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Samba Member
Joined: May 14, 2007
Posts: 2549
Location: Plattsburgh, New York
Posted: Mon Jun 03, 2024 5:48 am Post subject: Re: started bus after 4 years of working on it - good and bad news | |
I spent a year and a half carefully rebuilding an engine. Within a few minutes the bus was engulfed in thick reeking smoke. Pretty sure it was uncured bbq paint that I had used inside the rebuilt heater boxes. Scared the hell out of us as we had no idea what it was. I didnt attempt restarting it until the next day. No harm done. Something always goes wrong when I fire up an engine after rebuild. Glad you caught it in time. |
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Samba Member
Joined: October 05, 2014
Posts: 22807
Location: NYC/Upstate/ROW
Posted: Mon Jun 03, 2024 7:44 am Post subject: Re: started bus after 4 years of working on it - good and bad news | |
The quickest way to fix PIW (Previous Idiot wiring) Attach chain to it Short version - you need to rip out all the non-stock and damaged stuff and start again. Its going to be 20-40 hours of work, all in. |
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Samba Member
Joined: April 08, 2019
Posts: 118
Location: Austin, TX
Posted: Mon Jun 03, 2024 8:20 am Post subject: Re: started bus after 4 years of working on it - good and bad news | |||
as far as I can tell, its just the wires connecting the two batteries that were non-stock...also need to assess the damage to existing wire which (almost) entirely captured in the pics. thanks for any further advice you can give... |
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Samba Member
Joined: August 13, 2003
Posts: 3818
Location: connecting the dots
Posted: Tue Jun 04, 2024 4:04 am Post subject: Re: started bus after 4 years of working on it - good and bad news | |
Get the fire extinguisher schmutz off. _________________ my59: Well son, my grandfather died before I got to drive it, so does that answer your question? our79: sunroof bus w/camper interior and 2.0 FI Other:'12 Jetta, '77 Benz 300D, and a 74 MG Midget. |
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Samba Member
Joined: July 27, 2020
Posts: 10
Posted: Tue Jun 04, 2024 6:44 am Post subject: Re: started bus after 4 years of working on it - good and bad news | |
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=682069 _________________ 1971 Safare Camper |
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Samba Member
Joined: April 08, 2019
Posts: 118
Location: Austin, TX
Posted: Tue Jun 04, 2024 11:41 am Post subject: Re: started bus after 4 years of working on it - good and bad news | |||
I've been trying to, its everywhere! Will it damage anything? I'm vaccuming and using compressed air. I still have some sitting to take care of this weekend. Is there a process? I'd like to douse with gentle water stream to clean, but I'm afraid of causing other issues, please advice! |
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Samba Member
Joined: April 08, 2019
Posts: 118
Location: Austin, TX
Posted: Tue Jun 04, 2024 11:42 am Post subject: Re: started bus after 4 years of working on it - good and bad news | |||
thanks Fortitude!! |
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