1973 Volkswagen Beetle Problems

drtyler said:
Red fuses are 16a. White are 8a. Most of them are 8a from the factory.

I have not verified this diagram, but it is posted on the Samba. I have a 71 owners manual. If I find it tonight, I'll post the fuse box diagram.

735543.jpg
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The interesting thing here is that there are no fuses in the starter or ignition coil circuits-- though they do depend on continuity through the bus bars on the left side of the fuse block. Guess VW didn't want the cars to stop on the side of the road over a simple loose or blown fuse, though it's now more likely to catch on fire.

First test (after confirming engine is able to turn) would be to jump the starter as Trav shows. This will test the starter, battery, and the big power and ground wires. All the small wires related to the ignition switch are bypassed.

The red wires should be live all the time and the black wires become live when the key is turned on. Since the light switch is supplied from a red wire, the headlights and taillights should work even with the key off. Interestingly the brake lights are switched through the ignition switch.
 
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bcossa2020 said:
Is there any chance that the toggle switch is wired into the ignition system as a kill switch??? Maybe try starting it with the switch in each position......
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I don’t know what’s that’s for I am going to talk to the previous owners tomorrow maybe they can tell me. It might be a kill switch you never know
 
bcossa2020 said:
Is there any chance that the toggle switch is wired into the ignition system as a kill switch??? Maybe try starting it with the switch in each position......
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That's a good point, since this car has parts of different models on it, the wiring is unlikely to be fully stock either.
 
mk378 said:
The interesting thing here is that there are no fuses in the starter or ignition coil circuits-- though they do depend on continuity through the bus bars on the left side of the fuse block. Guess VW didn't want the cars to stop on the side of the road over a simple loose or blown fuse, though it's now more likely to catch on fire.

First test (after confirming engine is able to turn) would be to jump the starter as Trav shows. This will test the starter, battery, and the big power and ground wires. All the small wires related to the ignition switch are bypassed.

The red wires should be live all the time and the black wires become live when the key is turned on. Since the light switch is supplied from a red wire, the headlights and taillights should work even with the key off. Interestingly the brake lights are switched through the ignition switch.
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Yes the engine can turn. I plan on jumping the starter tomorrow. Yes it’s odd the headlights don’t work but the rest of the lights including the brake lights do.
 
better replace all the fuel lines while you are at it.
#1 cause for a total loss fire.
when i was a teenager hardly a week went by without one turning into a fireball going down the road.
a friend who was a fireman at the time used to prank rookies by letting them put one out with water.
once its been going a while the magnesium gets involved and water makes for a show!
and unfused circuits are a big FAIL! even if the mfr did it.
i would add them.
 
kc8adu said:
better replace all the fuel lines while you are at it.
#1 cause for a total loss fire.
when i was a teenager hardly a week went by without one turning into a fireball going down the road.
a friend who was a fireman at the time used to prank rookies by letting them put one out with water.
once its been going a while the magnesium gets involved and water makes for a show!
and unfused circuits are a big FAIL! even if the mfr did it.
i would add them.
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Oh yeah that’s definitely on the list. Mine has had the filter moved as well so no risk of that catching on fire. I try to replace the lines every 6 months or so they were new when I bought it and hasn’t been ran since so I will probably have to do it sometime.
 
I have a 65 VW Beetle with those same fuses. They tend to corrode on the end and cause resistive connections. The cure is to spin the fuses in the holder to clean it up. The solenoid sticking is a very common problem. That causes the starter to not even try to start. A relay is often added to power the solenoid and use the power from the ignition switch to activate a relay that switches the battery power to the solenoid. Had to add one of those to my 75 Westfalia. Be sure that mystery switch is tried in both directions. It isn't uncommon for the ignition switch itself to go bad. make sure that you have 12volts going to the choke on the carb. That also feeds the ignition coil. Like was said, There is a Forum on the Samba.com. Register there and ask questions and seek answers. Enjoy your fun little car. I am pulling my motor this week to replace the pressure plate and throwout bearing.
 
vwmaniaman said:
I have a 65 VW Beetle with those same fuses. They tend to corrode on the end and cause resistive connections. The cure is to spin the fuses in the holder to clean it up. The solenoid sticking is a very common problem. That causes the starter to not even try to start. A relay is often added to power the solenoid and use the power from the ignition switch to activate a relay that switches the battery power to the solenoid. Had to add one of those to my 75 Westfalia. Be sure that mystery switch is tried in both directions. It isn't uncommon for the ignition switch itself to go bad. make sure that you have 12volts going to the choke on the carb. That also feeds the ignition coil. Like was said, There is a Forum on the Samba.com. Register there and ask questions and seek answers. Enjoy your fun little car. I am pulling my motor this week to replace the pressure plate and throwout bearing.
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Glad to find lots of people on here who own or have owned them. I have the battery on charge currently to be able to test everything. I have read about the ignition being common on those too and the electrical assembly of the ignition controls some of the lights too so that maybe the problem.
 
Lesson learned from my recent BMW resto; get good replacement fuses from one of the Euro specialty suppliers. Some of the ones carried at the local mass market parts places aren't what they should be.

When I first got the car I cleaned, repositioned and used, sparingly, dielectric paste on the fuse contacts then replaced some of the fuses. I had bought fuses from one of the local auto parts stores and noticed they were plastic bodied instead of ceramic. They worked fine, but I noticed the conductors were very soft, one folded over as I was inserting it and I am pretty careful... Lost confidence in them, but they are probably fine for spares. I wound up replacing them w a set from Pelican Parts I believe.
 
AutoMechanic said:
Yes I have my lights are the red and white with no orange they aren’t the elephant foot lights like what some people call them here is the only picture I have of the back lights.
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Forgot to also mention, another good clue the body is a 71’ is the rear engine cover. Only 70’ and 71’ have 2 sets of vents. 72’ and newer have 4 sets of vents.
 
Interesting I plan on calling my teacher today to see if he knows about it maybe having a different body or something. I did ask him in a text what the switch the dash is for and he told me it’s the dimmer switch it has been moved there by the original owner of the car.
 
Trav said:
Very easy. Look at this first and you will get the idea. Yours possibly has another small terminal on the opposite side from this one but no matter jump to the one with the small wire going to it (probably black).

View attachment 31698

If it turns over you need to check for power at the small wire when someone turns the key, make sure battery terminals are clean and battery charged first before doing anything.
If it doesn't turn over you may be dealing with a locked up starter or bad solenoid. Try it and post back.
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So I done this yesterday after charging the battery and adding gas and it did crank still didn’t start though. The lights still don’t work but I can fix those after I get it running hopefully.
 
The interlock requires the driver's seat belt (and front passenger, if that seat is occupied) to be fastened for the car to start.

This was a rule in effect only for a very brief time in 1974. It applied to all new cars sold in the US at that time.
 
mk378 said:
The interlock requires the driver's seat belt (and front passenger, if that seat is occupied) to be fastened for the car to start.

This was a rule in effect only for a very brief time in 1974. It applied to all new cars sold in the US at that time.
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Oh ok thanks I wasn’t aware of that so that’s good to know in case I ever get one that’s a 74.
 
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