Hello everyone, finally got the car back together and hooked up the battery and started cranking the car. The engine is turning over slowly and the signal indicator light is flashing on the dash when it cranks. I`m pretty sure I have a ground issue of some kind. I had the battery checked and it`s good. I checked and cleaned all the ground points, still the same.
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Is there a mesh (the original was mesh) from the transaxle to the frame? It can be solid wire. Can always add another.
I have a brand new one like the one in the picture. Where could I add another one?
is it a bigger cc engine....had a 2387 and had to buy a hi-torque starter that fixed that problem
Have you checked/cleaned the positive and negative connections at the battery AND checked/cleaned where the negative battery cable attaches to the body?
And make sure the flat, braided cable goes from the chassis stud to the transaxle nosecone bolt (good ground) and not from transaxle to the engine (leaving the engine/transaxle assembly ungrounded).
You should not need more than one ground braid if it is connected properly from chassis to transaxle.
Wow, just PM’d the good Doctor regarding the same issue. New tranny came with a ground strap, but whole tranny is painted black. I will check the ground on mine... Then, pull the starter. Any recommendations for a brand or source for a hi torque starter?
Gordon Nichols posted:Have you checked/cleaned the positive and negative connections at the battery AND checked/cleaned where the negative battery cable attaches to the body?
And make sure the flat, braided cable goes from the chassis stud to the transaxle nosecone bolt (good ground) and not from transaxle to the engine (leaving the engine/transaxle assembly ungrounded).
You should not need more than one ground braid if it is connected properly from chassis to transaxle.
All connection you mentioned have been cleaned and checked. The negative battery cable is attached to the steel U bracket that helps support the body in front of the tank. Is that a good chassis ground? That was the way it was connected before?
IMI high torque starter. One source is aircooled.net. Other places that sell VW parts would have them too.
barncobob posted:is it a bigger cc engine....had a 2387 and had to buy a hi-torque starter that fixed that problem
Just a stock motor
The A/T self-supporting starter (same as the Porsche 914 one) has more torque than the stock starter (with end bearing). A quality starter is under $100 so might be worth swapping it out (and having a spare).
You can test the 'bad ground' theory easily enough by running a jumper cable from the battery negative terminal to somewhere on the engine block.
Unless you've got a monster engine, you really shouldn't need a high-torque starter. These are, after all, VW engines - juiced up a bit maybe, but still pretty modest motors.
Haint talkin' Cummins Diesel here.
I’m not a big fan of using the front body bracket as a ground point. It attaches to the front beam with two bolts and the front beam is attached to the chassis/frame with four bolts and any/all of those could be giving you more cranking resistance than wanted.
It would be better to remove the battery ground from that bracket and attach it directly to the chassis/frame at one of the beam bolts or, better yet, bolted to the splash tray on the driver’s or passenger’s side, right behind the front beam.
But after all this talk, you might just have a starter that’s going south (it happens). Try bypassing the ground cable with a good jumper cable to ground or moving the ground point as I mentioned, and don’t forget to clean/tighten the positive 12 volt connection at the starter solenoid and if all that doesn’t cure it it is time to pull the starter and get a new one. As Mitch said, unless you have a high compression motor, a stock starter should work just fine. I’m running a 2,110cc motor and a stock VW starter has been starting it for 20 years.
For a ground in front, I drilled a tapped a hole IN the inverted V of the CMC frame that goes over the tunnel in front.
Ditto on Wolfgang and Gordon's points about grounding on the beam bolts or splash tray and making sure that your transaxle grounding strap is cleanly attached.
If you decide you need an upgraded starter, the Bosch SR15N from Amazon cost me about $140 delivered.
The best source I've found for new, large sized, highly flexible battery and grounding cables is an eBay vendor, GaugeWireAndCable.
They custom build cables with high quality wire and install your choice of terminal lugs. I used 2 AWG gauge wire for the primaries, 4 AWG for the alternator to starter and 8 AWG for connecting fuse/relay boxes. 2 AWG gauge will handle anything you want to power and costs about $5/ft terminated. Shipping is about $4 per order and they have super fast delivery. I am a real fan. Here's a link to the big primary wires I installed:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/2-Gau...V-Solar/141690525321
Mike
Turns out the transmission side of the ground strap was on one of the case studs.I relocated the strap like in Wolfgang`s photo to the nose cone and like Gordon said, it made a good ground. I`m going to take your suggestion for grounding the negative battery cable to the splash tray.
Thanks Gordon, Wolfgang and everyone else for your input.
Now I just have to figure out how to make the signal indicator light work with my LED lights.
For my LED turn signals I used a Novita EP27 flasher I bought on Amazon.
Be sure the flasher itself is marked for LED use. One I got from NAPA wasn't.
Or you can run a pair of ballast resistors 5 ohm 10-20 watt available from Amazon/Autozone) one on each circuit (left/right) to make the existing flasher believe it has regular bulbs in there.
That’s the best way if you have an old VW 5-wire flasher like me. If you have a more modern 2 or 3 wire flasher, then Mike’s suggestion is the way to go.
Michael McKelvey posted:For my LED turn signals I used a Novita EP27 flasher I bought on Amazon.
I`m using the EL12L1 from NAPA. It`s a 2 wire with a ground wire. My car`s a 2 wire. It works just that my signal indicator light flashes weak and if I install a LED bulb it does not work at all. When I go to start the car it flashes when it cranks. I think it has something to do with the oil/alt/gen and turn signal feed.
I would try one of Mike's version.
Gordon Nichols posted:I would try one of Mike's version.
I would like to give it a try. But I don’t know how to convert a 2 wire flasher to a 3 or 4 wire flasher? Any advice would be appreciated..
Simple flasher wiring: Find the L and R feed wires from the column switch, install a single pole toggle switch between those two wires, when the toggle is off the signals will work as they should, Toggle switch in the on position and the column signal switch is moved to the L or Right position you now have a cheap $1.00 ...4 way flasher system.
Now I know what that third toggle that I installed under the dash is going to be used for. Schweeet.
But how does that help him convert from a 2-wire to a 3-wire flasher to work with Mike’s 3-wire flasher??
JB: A 2-wire LED compatible flasher:
2 prong: "X" is for 12v Battery & "L is for the load. A 3 prong flasher adds the "P" prong for a single dash indicator light. If all LED signal lights, then use an electronic flasher.
Slight variation on the Doctor's $1 four-way flasher.
You'll need a 'single pole, double throw' switch instead of a plain old switch, but this lets you do more.
A basic VW turn signal switch is a 'single pole, double throw (SPDT)' switch with three wires attached - one 'power' wire from the flasher relay to the switch's center contact, and the L and R turn signal wires to the other two contacts (your switch may have more wires than that, but they do other stuff beyond making the turn signals work). So, switch in center position, signals off, left position powers left signals, right position powers right signals.
The new switch is just wired in parallel with your existing turn signal switch and will also operate the signals. Three wires from old switch to new. Center to center, L to L, R to R. Easy peasy.
Why, you ask?
Well some of our cars have turn signal switches that self-cancel too soon. Signal the turn, move the wheel a millimeter in either direction, and the signal cancels. (Or so I've heard - my signals work perfectly.)
It's said a simple adjustment will fix this, but some of our cars refuse to be 'adjusted' no matter how they're rotated, aligned, tightened, loosened, or sworn at. (Or so I've heard - my signals work perfectly.)
A simple fix is to just add another turn signal switch under the dash with NO canceling feature. You're a quarter mile away from the turn. You use your new switch to signal and can then move the wheel as much as you want without the signal canceling. (Or so I've heard - my signals work perfectly.)
A side benefit is that, like the Doctor's switch, throwing both switches (in opposite directions) gives you four-way flashers. (Or so I've heard - my signals work perfectly.)
The only problem with this is that, due to inflation, a $1 switch now costs ten bucks.
@drclock: Thanks for the advice on the A/T starter. It made a huge difference. Now, adjust and balance the carbs, set the timing and later today I should have vroom, vroom in the old garage! Fingers crossed! Have to hit the "honey dew" list this morning, then into the high humidity and temperature of my shop.... Not complaining, because it sure beats the ice, snow and cold of a few months ago!
Ta Da! Glad to be of help ~
