Date: Mon, 12 Nov 2007 08:55:31 -0800
Reply-To: Old Volks Home <oldvolkshome@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Old Volks Home <oldvolkshome@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: 1.9L spark plug wires; Bosch/Beru content
In-Reply-To: <226173.8772.qm@web44805.mail.sp1.yahoo.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
FWIW, I've been running the Mexican made Bosch wires (09272) with post
style connections on both the coil and distributor cap in my 84 Westy
for several years now without the issues described here. A better
connection IMHO and I retrofitted mine that way. Perhaps I got a
well-made set, who knows?
The post style connections were introduced on the Vanagon in the 1985
model year (begun in 7/84), but I've run across 83.5-84 Vanagons with
them here and there. The Beru replacement wires are very well made
and worth the investment though.
But keep in mind that Bosch, Beru, Hella, Siemens-VDO and many other
OE Manufacturers have moved much of their production facilities to
other parts of Europe and in some cases out of Europe entirely to far
off places like the mideast, the far east and beyond. In some cases,
production quality is just as good, but there are cases of production
quality suffering. It's a never-ending battle to keep on top of
what's good and what's crap.
--
Jim Thompson
84 GL 1.9 "Gloria"
84 Westfalia 2.1 "Ole Putt"
73 K Ghia Coupe "Denise"
72 411 Station Wagon "Pug"
oldvolkshome@gmail.com
http://www.oldvolkshome.com
***********************************
On Nov 12, 2007 7:36 AM, Brian Jarvinen <brianvwagain@yahoo.com> wrote:
> well I am working through issues on a 1.9L.
> When I checked the coil wire, the terminal was
> solid blue on the coil end, and fairly loose.
> The more I thought about it, I've never
> been able to get a good connection there.
>
> One explanation I discovered on Bus Depot's
> site - some Bosch wires are now made in Mexico.
> This explained a lot, I thought, considering this
> coil wire was only a year old and at about 20K miles.
> But as usual I thank the Bus Depot for keeping an eye
> out on the parts supply chain. I never knew Bosch
> was moving parts production like that. I just
> assume Bosch = quality.
>
> But when I tried to clean the wire with a brush, the
> metal end broke as soon as I touched it. I've been
> using these wires through several sets, and though
> I really like the spark plug shields, I've never liked
> the ends connecting to the cap (a no-post style cap)
> You don't want to try disconnecting one when it is
> hot, and it is always difficult and I've mangled a few
> just trying to pull them off the cap.
>
> So after this latest coil wire was a goner I looked
> through my collection of old wires (I always keep
> them)
> and had two coil wires. Each was a Beru wire, with
> different end styles. One would snap perfectly
> into the cap, but not the coil. The other would
> snap perfectly into the coil, but not the cap. So
> I start looking at the coil from my parts van; it has
> a 'no-post' style connection. I began to suspect
> that the old wire had broken inside the coil terminal
> and this was preventing a good connection. So I
> finally took the coil off, something I had always
> skipped due to the extra work. When I looked at
> it, I discovered that it had a post connection in
> the terminal! I've owned my van for 187K miles and
> always used no-post distributor caps. One of
> my vans was manufactured 11/83, the other 12/83
> and I assumed they were identical in every way.
> But somewhere in that month VW changed the coil
> and cap system. Now these Bosch wires seem to
> work with either post or no-post connections,
> but I much prefer the way the Beru wire just snaps
> in to place. I suspect it is the wire that came with
> the van (first time I had the cap changed, right
> after I got the van, I let a mechanic do it but kept
> the wires; though I bought it from a VW shop and they
> may have changed the cap style too).
>
> So if you are having trouble getting a good coil
> connection you might want to check to see which
> type of coil you have. With a mirror you could
> probably
> look in there easily. I have the part & serial #s of
> both
> coils if anyone is interested.
>
> So one question is - can I buy 'Beru' wires anywhere?
> They seem real nice. I don't want to use the Bosch
> style any more. It will be nice to finally be using
> a matching cap and coil style.
>
> Also, Bus Depot's site seems to indicate a change
> in these wires again in 7/84. Just curious what that
> entailed.
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