Aircooled VW South Africa

coming along nicely now, should be fired up in the next day or 2 and ready to install sunday.... looking forward to it..

Motor in today. Much easier with wheel ramps and a big trolley jack.
Thanks uncle bill for the engine work and all the little extra bits i needed.
Will post an installed pic... Glad the fasty is moving again..

Lovely.... you must be excited?

Super excited, but keen to get this reliable so i can send my daily in for a big service -200 000 km.
The starter has clearly been an issue as the keyturn doesnt work and a press switch has been fitted. The problem is that the switch is not working now... I can start it at the starter with a screwdriver, but thats not a long term strategy. I am thinking the wire from the switch to the starter actuator has a short or is corroded as the wire gets hot at the fuse box but starter does not engage...any ideas?

Could be burnt contacts, bad connections, there is a lot that could be wrong.
Maybe fitting a relay would be the best.
Key brings in relay, relay brings in started bendix,
No wiring problems any more.

Ja there was a relay at some stage it seems... I will check the switch for burnt contacts, but also the switch wiring is not big enough, its 1 mm and the original is 4 mm it seems.
Where does the relay get installed? Will have to keep the switch as the key no longer turns to start.

There were three relays in fact. (one when I bought it and a further two new ones).

They didn't make much of a difference, one day it would start, then again not the next day.

It's not the ignition either, some days it would start with the key, other days with the button.

I suspect it's either the wire from the ignition going to the back that has a short or high resistance (maybe the starter itself?).

We put a temp wire in from the starter to the interior, touch that to the battery and she started every time. No relay's required.
After doing that, for a few days afterwords it would start with the key! The 6V battery in there was new, so I doubt it's that, but worth checking.

Good luck! Let us know how you get on.

Sorry, no more info.....

This thread has been going on for months, with references to this Fastback.....

No photos, No Fastback, No info.............

Got to be though with these youngsters, else they will get away with ........ well No Photos.

Starter is good, been checked. It looks like the wire to the back has been changed? Its a red/ pink one?
Battery is good and charged.
I am thinking the switch cant take the amps or its the cable... Will test switch first.

retrovan wrote:Sorry, no more info.....

This thread has been going on for months, with references to this Fastback.....

No photos, No Fastback, No info.............

Got to be though with these youngsters, else they will get away with ........ well No Photos.

Pics will come... I have some plans first...

Update: switch is toast( checked with multimter, its permanentl closed) so its probably been dying. I seethe fuse is blown as well, which makes sense..
Hope its the switch, will try get a hi-amp replacement

Most switches, are not capable of carrying the 6v hi amps, best will be to get the new switch, let it carry low, next to nothing amps to bring in the relay fitted under the back seat, and have a thick short wire to the starter bendix. You can use the thin wire to the back for the relay, no problem.

Herman

Ok, much thanks to Herman, seem to be working now. Got an old 6v relay, new fuse, and a replacement interim switch because i couldnt find a quality replacement. Wired the relay under the seat with a thick cable from the battery for power and it all starts great now. I think the old wire just couldnt get enough current all the way to the back. Some other lessons: not many switches can handle the heavy 6v amps, and 12v relays will only work intermittently on 6v electrics..

The newer relays also can't handle the 6V amps, hence the reason we used three. Your best bet might be to keep that old 6V relay...
You are right, think the wire was changed as a test as well. Glad you got it working and SO glad it wasn't the starter !