Club 80-90 Forums

Fiddling around sorting out the stereo, I (somehow) managed to lose power to the lights, wipers and fan. Traced the fault to this, at the other end of the ignition barrel from the key:



I knew it was this, because when I wiggled the black connector that goes into it a bit, the aforementioned accessories burst back into life. Thing is, holding it just so to get them working didn't last.

I ended up bridging two wires (a big red one and a black and yellow one) via a switch, which has sorted it.

So, the question is:

Can I get a new one of these switches?

Will my "bridge" do any damage?

Thank you.

That black/yellow wire provides power to the headlights and a relay (that in turn provides power to the wipers and the fan) - so it carries quite a large current (when headlights are on - especially on high beam);
So your 'switch' needs to be up to the job or you're in danger of causing more problems - also that wire is temporarily disconnected (by the ignition switch) when the starter is turning to reduce the load on the battery so you'd need to ensure switch was off when starting (and also off when you leave the van - as they'll be a small current draw to activate the relay regardless of if headlights/wipers/fan are on)

So your switch will probably be ok short-term (assuming it is up to the current load passing through it) but long term you'd want to fix it properly - pretty sure that the Wiki has a bit about replacing the ignition switch somewhere ...... seem to recall that it was pretty easy.
Are you sure that the ignition switch is faulty and that it's not a problem with the connector to the ignition switch (either a loose connection or rust)??

It's definitely that switch. Wiggling the black connector that attaches to it, or wiggling the ignition key got everything working - that says to me that it's something between the two.

Big Bad Baz wrote:It's definitely that switch. Wiggling the black connector that attaches to it, or wiggling the ignition key got everything working - that says to me that it's something between the two.

Fair enough - you'll probably need something like this then ......
https://www.vwheritage.com/shop/1119058 ... 2-bay-t25/

All depends on postage I guess or if you can just pop in to a local GSF?

http://www.brickwerks.co.uk/index.php/t ... ch-t3.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


Martin

MidLifeCrisis wrote:Fair enough - you'll probably need something like this then ......
https://www.vwheritage.com/shop/1119058 ... 2-bay-t25/

That's the fella!

How the hell do I get the old one out though? (You can probably see the screwdriver marks in my picture where I tried...)

https://club8090.co.uk/wiki/VW ... ion_Switch" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

If it was quick to remove, any passing oik would be off and away in your camper

CovKid wrote:https://club8090.co.uk/wiki/VW ... ion_Switch

If it was quick to remove, any passing oik would be off and away in your camper

Thank you.