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Date:         Fri, 9 Jun 2006 07:55:49 -0400
Reply-To:     Richard Golen <rgolen@UMASSD.EDU>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Richard Golen <rgolen@UMASSD.EDU>
Subject:      High-beam Indicator Light Fix
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed

Greetings!

First off, I'd like to thank all of you that responded with suggested and even detailed instructions on how to repair the high-beam indicator light. However, given the apparent amount of time and effort it would take to repair the light as per the instructions sent, I decided to come up with my own solution using some spare parts and about 10 minutes of time. Here's how to do it and a parts list:

PARTS LIST: Duct Tape 2 paper clips (use one, keep one in case the first falls behind the radiator/air conditioner condenser) Swiss Army Knife Upper front teeth Tail Light Unit from 56 Beetle (actually any Beetle tail light will do, except for 73 and up - they take up too much room) Epoxy Ribbon 16 gauge wire or painted coat-hanger wire Chewing gum (any flavor or Nicorette) Electric Drill with 1/8" bit (optionally hammer and 8p nail) Sheet metal screw Screw driver

INSTRUCTIONS:

Remove grille, using screwdriver from Swiss Army Knife (SAK) and then remove the driver side head light unit.

Taking one of the paper clips, unbend it making a 90 degree shaped bend. Insert one end of the paper clip into the high beam (yellow wire...if not it must be the white wire....might take a bit of experimenting to get it right) wire part of the headlight plug making contact with the female terminal.

Using your SAK, cut a length of 16 gauge wire approximately 3 feet long. Gently strip one inch from each end of your wire using your SAK or the gap between your two front upper teeth. If you don't have wire, take the coat hanger, straighten it out, and remove one inch of paint from each end. Make sure you don't ding the remaining paint as this will serve as an insulator minimizing the potential for the coat hanger from grounding out and causing a fire. Carefully wrap one end of the wire onto the end of the paper clip emanating from the head light plug. Take some duct tape and wrap it around the confluence of the wire and clip. Take a piece of gum and jam it into the plug so that the paper clip won't come loose.

Run the 16 gauge wire (or coated coat hanger) up across the body work below the windshield. Wrap the wire twice around the antenna and then into the cab between the door and body at the height of the vent window/dash board. Take the roll of duct tape and tape the wire to the body work to keep the wire from flapping in the wind and scratching the paint.

Next take the tail light unit and attach the other end of the now-in-side-the-van wire to any spade connector with a light bulb attached to it. Using the remaining chewing gum, wad the gum up on the connector and wire to ensure the wire doesn't fall off. BTW, if you have a 6v bulb, you might put a bit of duct tape on the bulb, as running a 6v bulb on a 12v system will make the light REALLY bright!!. Take a piece of left over 16 gauge wire and wrap it around the metal of the bulb holder. This will be your ground wire. Don't worry about covering this piece of wire because its a ground wire, and chance of fire is nil.

Using the electric drill (or optionally the hammer and 8p nail) make a hole in a convenient piece of metal near the dash (probably not a good idea to do it on the door unless you have a BIG piece of ground wire). Clean up the end of the ground wire, wrap it around the sheet metal screw and then screw the screw/wire combination into the newly made hole.

Now its time to test the indicator light. Turn on the ignition key, and then turn on the head lights and switch to high-beams. If you followed these instructions, the tail light bulb should light up. If it does, you are almost done!! Leave the high beams on for 5 minutes and inspect your work by looking for and/or smelling for smoke. No smoke? Good!

Put the grille back on. For that NASCAR look and extra down force (as you know Vanagons push in the turns because of the rear-end weight bias) tape up the grilles with duct tape, leaving about a 4 square inch area for cool air to reach the radiator. If you have an air cooled Vanagon, feel free to tape up all of grille.

For the final step, find a suitable place (windshield, dash board, ceiling, corner of rear view mirror, center of steering wheel) to put your high-beam indicator light (formerly a VW beetle tail light). Next take the epoxy ribbon and mix it together turning it from a yellow and blue strips into a mucus-green color. Spread the epoxy around the base of the tail light and stick the unit into its suitable place. Tape the unit down with duct tape. After 4 hours, the epoxy will have set, you can remove the duct tape and you are finished!

As an optional touch, run a wire from the high beam indicator to the seat belt warning buzzer, this way you can be totally sure to know when you have the high beams on!!

For detailed instructions with diagrams and photos, please go to: www.frydaye-engineering.com/vanagon/kewlfixes/highbeamlight

Ric 87 Westfalia with new high beam indicator light

(DISCLAIMER - this is a Frydaye Follies post - do NOT under any circumstances follow these instructions without first filling out the waiver of liability found at: www.frydaye-engineering.com/legal/waiver-of-liability )


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