Date:         Thu, 14 May 2015 20:27:58 -0400
Reply-To:     The Bus Depot <vanagon@BUSDEPOT.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         The Bus Depot <vanagon@BUSDEPOT.COM>
Subject:      Re: Ignition/starter switch failures
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

> I have to disagree (somewhat) here... saying they "should" have
>done that I think is beyond reasonable.

I come from an air cooled VW background originally and the same
configuration was used on Buses as well. The situation was amplified on a
Bus because the starter and battery are practically next to each other, yet
the wiring takes the signal from the engine compartment all the way to the
ignition switch and all the way back to the engine compartment for no
particular reason. It worked fine when the Bus was new, but there was little
margin for error - as a result, oxidized connections, a weak battery, heat,
etc. could be just enough to tip the scales and keep the solenoid from
kicking. It was John Muir (late author of the Idiot Guide, "How to Keep Your
Volkswagen Alive," which is mandatory reading for any air cooled VW owner)
who recommended shortening the route by adding a freestanding Ford solenoid
near the battery and having the ignition switch trigger it instead of
routing everything through the ignition switch. His concept was sound, but a
Ford solenoid is overkill for the purpose and itself draws much more current
than needed. A simple relay does the same trick. In a Vanagon the route is
not as circuitous, but still more so than necessary. IMO VW should have done
away with the design early into the Bus years (the fact that people were
routinely fixing their design using Ford parts should have been a dead
giveaway).  Vanagons may be less susceptible, but if a solenoid problem
comes up there is little downside to adding a relay (short of the potential
for relay failure, but they're usually pretty reliable).  If I am not
mistaken, many if not most modern vehicles use the ignition switch as a
trigger and do not actually route the starter through it.

> The headlights draw ten amps on high beam, if you
> use 65/55 lamps in a two-light setup.

Yes, you are right. We offer a relay kit for the headlights as well.

http://www.busdepot.com/hrk1  ('80-85)

http://www.busdepot.com/hrk2  ('86-91)

Ron Salmon
The Bus Depot, Inc.
www.busdepot.com