Itinerant Air-Cooled

Hi looking for a decent 1969 Bus switch and housing, mine has died a slow death.
211-953-513G
I am reluctant to trust the new stuff out there...over $100 and who knows?
Someone on Samba has NOS for $280 yikes. Would really like to keep this Bus as German as possible.

How do you get the old brittle steering wheel off without mutilating the bottom with the pulller? A wooden collar maybe? Bit of rubber?
Man I dislike dealing with old VW wiring. Thinking of cutting the old switch wires at the terminal for easy reference, it's dead anyway.
Always somethin, I lost my lights last night at 1am when I switched to high beams, this switch is finally done. Drove home 5 more miles with just the running lights.

useful info:
http://www.airheadparts.com//turn-signa ... ckup-68-71

they did it with washers:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewto ... nal+switch

Hi Bob,

I just did this last year on Buddy. I hooked up an aftermarket switch that came with by bus five years ago, and it never worked well. Last year I found a good used one on eBay; they pop up every few weeks. $36 plus shipping, and the thing works great. I got some grit in it during an offered accident in March, and a GumOut spritz made it better than before. The wiring hookup was just a swap of where the wires went before; it's really elegant having the wiring match the Bentley for troubleshooting in the future. That's something the aftermarket switch doesn't offer; they can't seem to make multi-colored striping on wire these days.

The real question is: do you need one? If you ground the terminal form the dimmer relay with the brown and white wire (switch ground from the stalk lever) you should get a switching of high to low headlamps. Regardless of the beam selection, current for the headlamps must go through the relay first, so if you do not get beams or even a "click" from the relay after grounding the terminal (key on, please,) you could suspect the relay first. They're cheaper, and more readily available! If the signal switch was really to blame, the beams would stick on one setting and stay there.

I've replaced my switch twice and never needed to pull the wheel as long as the collar for the switch housing matches up with the new one. In fit AND paint.

Robbie

I agree about the wiring, that seems important. The switch is definitely worn out though, it needs to go. I thought about just replacing the guts but the screws are all wallowed out, I would have to drill and that potmetal is unforgiving.
I will check around Portland and see if I can find a good used one. Otherwise it's that Taiwan switch...

Having a hell of a time finding one...
Wonder if this is a good way to go? IF the housing threads aren't shot...
http://www.airheadparts.com/vintage-vw- ... 1953513-gg

PS please move to Electrical if deemed appropriate.
thanks
-Bob

Those switches were out of stock for many months while I debated trying to solder my old one up. I would use that because I like VWG's parts that I have used. That being said, testing your relay might be a fun game to play while you're waiting for the new switch.

Robbie

Word on the street is that the Taiwan new switches with housings are garbage, only 50% work out of the box.
It is definitely a mechanical issue, there is serious crunchy interference in the switch. And smoke a few months ago as things shorted out. Could be the relay too but probably not.
Possibly found one nearby in Camas, WA. Oh the suspense.

Ahhh you let the smoke out? All bets are off. Better order some NOS smoke while you can still get it.

Man I could use some of that stuff. NOS!

The Lucas smoke is only usable in British cars. Most German cars require SWF or Hella smoke, though Opel's can also use AC Delco.

tristessa wrote:The Lucas smoke is only usable in British cars. Most German cars require SWF or Hella smoke, though Opel's can also use AC Delco.

I've never found those brands of smoke for sale. The good original smoke can't tell if the car is positive ground or not; it just works. The new stuff, however......

hambone wrote:Word on the street is that the Taiwan new switches with housings are garbage, only 50% work out of the box.
It is definitely a mechanical issue, there is serious crunchy interference in the switch. And smoke a few months ago as things shorted out. Could be the relay too but probably not.
Possibly found one nearby in Camas, WA. Oh the suspense.

Save your old switch and invite me over when I am in Portland. One sunny afternoon, it is all I ask.
Achtung! Remove it with intact wiring!
Colin

hambone wrote:Word on the street is that the Taiwan new switches with housings are garbage, only 50% work out of the box.
It is definitely a mechanical issue, there is serious crunchy interference in the switch.

This is the truth. I got one a few years ago from the late lamented OEVeeDub.com, and it was DOA. Crunch, crunch, it went. I have not installed
the replacement yet, it will probably be an act of desperation if I do.

I just wish that someday soon some mechanical genius will disassemble an old original, and figure out why they stop working, and what
we all can do to fix it. The wires coming loose is a pretty obvious situation, if somewhat tricky to rectify due to the crampedness of the layout.

I now have a few used and dirty switches in my care, thanks to Shawn up in Camas. $40 and worth the trip up there without signals. I got lost and went up a mini mountain by mistake. On the right road though, just the wrong direction...
It is weird crossing the Columbia River, it seems like going to another country though thousands do it daily.

Do these things require any lubrication? It's probably not good for the electrical contacts etc. I'm going to spray the innards clean with electrical cleaner.

Super Lube makes a dielectric grease that is slippery when applied. I apply it quite sparingly to the sliding contacts. And by sparingly, I mean I clean the assembly with electrical contact cleaner then use a toothpick to gingerly brush a tiny amount on. If you think you've used enough, it might be too much.

Any good dielectric grease will work, but clean is more important, in my opinion.

Robbie