CMC wiring confusion

Hang on.....I'm still trying to reconstruct a wiring diagram from that abortion that is a power distribution strip in photo 1, but, just curiously..........I bet you are NOT running 356-style gauges and have those CMC "Vintage" gauges, right?

And I TOTALLY believe that this was wired by an engineer - a Technician would NEVER have wired this car without labeling everything.  "Engineers" do it all the time.

The wiring for the CMC is here on the site under resources. A red wire left hanging is also not good as it should have power to it or power supplied from it and was probably connected to the starter.

With what looks to be an exciter or load for the alternator soldered into a terminal block I would be starting at the beginning, tagging all wires for source and destination.

My two OHMS.

You also have to consider that (a.) the person assembling the car may or may NOT have followed the CMC wiring diagram (I know I did not) and (b.) just because the diagram says a wire is "red" doesn't mean a thing - most people, especially engineers, use anything that's handy.  Trust me on this.  I'll take a technician any day.

Dave:  Just to let you know what's going on with your photos;

Photo 1:  Starting at the top/left and numbering from top to bottom, 1, 2, 3 etc......

Left most strip - everything on the left is "daisy chained" meaning that all of the left terminals are the same and electrically connected.  I cannot see where they get their feed from, but suspect it is #6 right (but I can't be sure from the photo), simply because I believe it is a larger gauge wire.

I have no ida where the wires on the right of that block go - you'll have to trace them out.

BLOCK #2 (middle) 

This block does essentially the same thing as block #1- power is daisy-chained down the left side and it appears to be fed by #1 left with #2 left as a sub-feed.  My best suggestion would be to touch each terminal on the right with the key off to see which ones are "live" and not their locations.

Then, turn on the key and re-touch the same terminals and see which ones come alive with the "Key-On" position.  THOSE are the ones to concentrate on, because one of the feeds your ignition out back.    

# 1-4 left are electrically connected = the same

#4 left feeds #5 &6 left.  

#'s 7-8 left, while connected, appear to be isolated from the rest and feed fuses # 7-8 but they appear to get their power from #5 right(?).

The important thing to do is find where you're getting +12V KEY ON at the fuse panel, and then trace those wires back to the engine compartment and see where they go - something back there has to have +12V at "key on" only, and THAT should go to  the "+" side of the coil.  The "-" side of the coil goes to the distributor small wire on the side of the distributor housing to tell the coil when to fire.  On a lot of CMC's, the color of the wire only bears a loose relationship to what the CMC wiring diagram tells us.  for instance, mine is wired right from the VW service manual wiring diagrams and the wire colors, while right in the VW book, are different from the CMC manual.

Good luck, and keep asking questions - we'll get you through this.

On the 5x block that contains the exciter-->  ground, black looks like it was fried. Look at the last inch or so of the wire to the bulb.

Maybe nothing.

Art

Here is what I found based on suggestions.

The #1 and #2 connections at the fuse block are hot all the time. 

The CMC manual says there are 12 fuses--mine has 8 so its going to be fun.

I think all gauges and lights worked properly when I snatched out of an 8 year sleep. Right now I have turn signals, headlights, horn, wipers so will sort out the rest tomorrow night--HOPEFULLY!!!

When ignition is turned on--the rest are hot except #3 (red wire coming in) which is feeding the green and white wires that go to the engine.

I have a local VW friend that is willing to stop by tomorrow night to help sort this out.

Like Zeppelin says--dazed and confused

Art--I think the wire was soldered to the side of the bulb to make contact. Was working when it ran before. Is there some type of socket with a plug in available in case this takes a crap down the road?

Yeah, that's why I asked if it had the CMC gauge set.  The CMC "Vintage" gauge set, IIRC, doesn't have an alternator light.  

My guess is that the light in photo #3 is connected to +12V on one side (only with the ley on), and then goes to "D+" on the alternator on the other side.  That might then take the place of the dash "alternator" or "charging" light.

Dave;

Patience, keep feeding Gordon. He pulled me thru a "8 year sleep" several years ago. My wiring was a real mess!!  I learned alot!

Art

Yes--has the Vintage CMC gauges--some day I'll spring for 356 gauges but not at their current cost. If I could only get my pics back. Next time I'll label everything--because its a replica there wil be another time. Over the winter--new interior and prep for paint--if my money tree sheds some my way--lol

The way I would approach this and I've suggested ... with the key on use a test light to see what wires are is hot, set those aside then one by one ground the remainder to see what gauge / light is excited or fuse gets blown...this will eliminate at least half of the wire question. From the top of my head..................wires in motor bay to dash are: Heavy wire from Ignition switch "start" to  male tab on starter solenoid.   Heavy wire from Batt terminal on Ignition switch to 13mm stud nut on starter solenoid.    Wire from " Ign." terminal on the switch to coil + .    Wire from the tach that goes to coil - .      A wire from oil pressure gauge to sender unit on motor case,    "61" wire from alt to blue idiot dash light                                                                               

Not able to work on it today. Motor cranks freely. Points checked and adjusted. Condensor changed. See above messages what I have tested so far. I will do the grounding test Wed when friend comes over. I simply need hot to the distributor to get it fired up so I'm still processing this by reading diagrams. 

Any other ideas are appreciated--watch it be something simple!!!!!!!!!!

So I found that the red wire(opp green and white) on #3 is wired to a kill switch under the dash on passenger side. It must had been bumper off. pulled down and now I have power to red # wire. Cranked engine thinking--here we go--not. Fuse at # 3 blown. Found I don't have 15 amp fuse only 20amp--heading to autozone. Even with kill switch on and ignition--nothing at + coil yet. So --here we go again.

It LIVES--well sort of. Still something wrong with timing but engine now fires. Going to change cap/rotor and maybe the 050 distributor. Anyone still following this thread??

There seems to me more spark across points than usual--any ideas??