Date: Sun, 9 Mar 2014 16:24:08 -0700
Reply-To: "SDF ( Scott Daniel Foss )" <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: "SDF ( Scott Daniel Foss )" <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Organization: Cosmic Reminders
Subject: Re: Electric: Where should +12V to camping fusebox and relay
originate?
In-Reply-To: <CAB2Rwfh_iNRqeK8HGgCHgUE2aMGVBQGj+SzfVH+G1DJ7KY0Sug@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed
I have never seen an 85 with the next-up type fuse box.
The diffenitive determination of what year modal a vanagon is ...is by I
think the 10th didgit in the VIN..a letter.
All US model 85's have the older fuse box
that I have seen ..and that's about on a hundred 85's.
it's the first good year vanagon IMO really ..due to the improved
sliding door. I own several still.
I have seen European vanagons later than 85 though..that still used the
older style fuse box.
I don't really understand your last paragraph.
'Load' on a circuit is not determined at all by the power going to it ..
but by the power taken out of it.
connect a small light bulb directly to an 12 volt starting battery that
can put out 600 cold cranking amps.
The light bub will not take any more current than it can use.
Connect 5 starters ( installed on engines so there is a
current-pulling load ) in parallel and engergize them all, ( to the
same battery )
current flow will be massive...more than the battery can safety supply ,
but it'll try.
it's the consumers, not the avialable power that determines load on a
circuit.
Naturally you want wire size, loads, and fuse capacity to all be
comparable .
I would emphasize again ..study what the manufacturers do ..
sure they mess up sometimes..say early CIS gas Rabbits where fuel pump
current flow in the fuse box was too high , eventually melting the fuse
box ..
but 'usually' manufacturers have it all pretty well figured out .
Just do what they do. 'most of the time' that will work out nicely.
also ..VW electrical systems are on the weak side...traditionally built
'just well enough'.
for example..
the electrical part of the ignition switch on a typical mercedes or
Volvo is about 5 times more robust than the little plastic thing on
vanagons ..
that hold up amazinly well...even though they are just a small piece of
plastic not-quite 'cheap' ...but certainly modest let's say.
so do upgrade circuits carefully here and there for sure.
the real danger is in people modifying things when they don't know what
they are doing ..
or in doing sloppy work, or adding something somewhere when they don't
really understand the circuit.
that under-seat aux battery relay is clever ..
and different than what you'd expect.
On 3/9/2014 3:25 PM, Neil N wrote:
> In the OEM configuration, + power to the camper appliances/lights
> should connect to the 30 buss. (B+) I have modified it since, but on
> my older style ceramic fuse type fuse panel, that wire connected to
> the "backside" (pre fuse) buss at a fuse. IIRC, the '85 could have
> either the older or newer style fuse panel.
>
> AFAIK, the Vanagon would not originally have a headlight relay; hi/low
> beam is switched at the hi/low beam switch only.
>
> It sounds to me like there is a battery isolator relay and the stock
> fridge relay in the aux battery box under the driver seat.
>
> I'm sure I'll be corrected by the experts if I'm wrong, but, if one
> connects an extra + supply wire to an existing functioning circuit, it
> is simply redundant. It's the loads on that circuit that might
> potentially overload the circuit.
>
>
> Neil.
>
> On 3/9/14, Poppie Jagersand <poppie.jagersand@yahoo.ca> wrote:
>>
>> I'm trying to re-wire the camping power right in my '85 full Westy camper.
>> Two things appear wrong:
>> 1. The power into the camping circuit is switched (only on when engine
>> running), while Bentley page 97.32b shows that it should be unswitched
>> battery power. I'm afraid this may overload another circuit and it's
>> switching relay.
>>
>> The input to the camping circuit is the thickest (2.5mm^2) read wire. Does
>> the other end of that connect to the fuse panel under the dash? Or
>> elsewhere? What terminal under the dash should it go to?
>>
>> I was also curious what relay under the dash does the switching of the 12V
>> for things like the headlights?
>>
>
>
> --
> Neil n
>
> Blog: tubaneil.blogspot.ca
>
> '88 Westy http://tinyurl.com/c8rlw6p
>
> '81 VanaJetta 2.0 "Jaco" http://tubaneil.googlepages.com/
>
> Vanagon VAG *Gas* inline-VR Engine Swap Group:
>
> http://tinyurl.com/d7gd5ej
>
