Character

[DieselBalz]

I love that these cars have character. Outside of the boxy goodness, in and up for reverse type stuff, the individual quirks that your car develops.
I thought it would be cool to have a thread dedicated to such unique abnormalities. I am also curious to see if any of us share some of the same ones.

I'll start
1. After I start the car, the battery dummy light glows red untill I give the throttle a little blip.

2. When ever My FR tire goes over a speed bump sized bump, the radio cuts off for a second. I've checked all connections, jiggled relay panels and fuse boxes around, the wires behind the radio have all been securely connected, and Ive even jostled those around to see if something back there is loose, nothin.

3. In moderate rain, even if I just adjusted the alternator tensioner pulley, the belt will slip, but only if I am running the AC. Ill be cruising along, than suddenly the battery light comes on and my tach drops to zero until I shut the AC off.

[ORCoaster]

The sound of the engine clacking away at idle that builds just a little until I shift to second then coast downhill, pure silence and a purr.

[CRSMP5]

all vw has alt light...  

try a wider ac belt..

radio.. check your speaker wires.. if it grounds to chassis it will do that... like wire is chaffed in 1 spot.. id guess rear right..

character... LOL..

the evil looks i receive when out tooling round in my 81 coupe..

the giggly girls giving thumbs up when out in the toaster..

my b3 wagon gets me harrassed by local piggies.. which is odd cause of all my stuff it is most normal looking.. but ive scored more coupons in it then all the rest..

as far as odd things they do.. nada.. well besides the alt light.. LOL..

[R.O.R-2.0]

I love that these cars have character. Outside of the boxy goodness, in and up for reverse type stuff, the individual quirks that your car develops.
I thought it would be cool to have a thread dedicated to such unique abnormalities. I am also curious to see if any of us share some of the same ones.

I'll start
1. After I start the car, the battery dummy light glows red untill I give the throttle a little blip.

2. When ever My FR tire goes over a speed bump sized bump, the radio cuts off for a second. I've checked all connections, jiggled relay panels and fuse boxes around, the wires behind the radio have all been securely connected, and Ive even jostled those around to see if something back there is loose, nothin.

3. In moderate rain, even if I just adjusted the alternator tensioner pulley, the belt will slip, but only if I am running the AC. Ill be cruising along, than suddenly the battery light comes on and my tach drops to zero until I shut the AC off.

most REAL cars have reverse in that spot.. lots of cars from the 60s and 70s were like that.

radio shuts off for a second? does it have a removable face? where is it grounded to? where does it get main power and accy power from?

[DieselBalz]

I used the factory harness with an adapter made for a mk2. I did notice it happens now more since I ut the sub and amp in. I have the amp grounded to that screw that I believe the rear lights are grounded to. Proper gauge wiring was used and all connections are tight.

[maxfax]

I dunno if there are enough characters to list all the quirks in one post.. Of course most of my quirks are due to the simple fact that everything is shot and I never get around to fixing things..  But the alt light, yes all of em except the one with the GM alternator...  Well let's see here,

Driver window pops out of it's holder, sometimes falls down in the door, usually when there is an impending rain storm...

Engine block is cracked, welded, cracked again so I have to siphon the oil out of the coolant reservoir every few days..  Now the gasket is leaking oil and water externally so I gotta top fluids a lot...

Shifter bushings are crap, very specific combination of movements will get you though the gears

It leaks when it rains, everywhere... It was easier just to drill holes in the floor than fix the leaks..

Struts are crap, pot holes and other abnormalities in the road are a blast at speeds over 50...  Bearings in the front strut mounts??  HAHAHHAHAH

Every time I actually spend and put new tires on it, something happens to one of them..  Been running a lumpy bald spare forever..  I do have another lumpy bald spare in the car, but the jack is probably rusted beyond use from the leaks...

The heater fan always has crap from the maple trees in it..  When the chunks aren;t blowing out the vents at me they sound real bad a$$ed...

The seats don't move..  Nor do they need to..

Upper steering column bearing rattles like a mofo..

Driver exterior door handle, yeah there's a trick to that..

Radio - That works!! But the exhaust still seems to win...

[R.O.R-2.0]

I used the factory harness with an adapter made for a mk2. I did notice it happens now more since I ut the sub and amp in. I have the amp grounded to that screw that I believe the rear lights are grounded to. Proper gauge wiring was used and all connections are tight.

i would be suspecting a bad ground, or a malfunctioning deck..

[veector]

when i take off after a morning start she loves to lay coals down my entire driveway

[R.O.R-2.0]

when i take off after a morning start she loves to lay coals down my entire driveway

diesels lay lots of coals when they are cold.. way more than when they are up to temp.

[DieselBalz]

That reminds me, it also likes to mark its territory. Thanks to the turn down I installed, there is a nice little black patch in my driveway and parking spot at work. 

[R.O.R-2.0]

mine marks its territory by the drippy road draft tube.. it drips maybe one drip a day..

[745 turbogreasel]

I'm outa gas till I give the dash a smack.

[R.O.R-2.0]

I'm outa gas till I give the dash a smack.

should quit putting gas in your car 

[wdkingery]

I've got a speaker that comes and goes..
Sometimes my Idle goes so low the whole car shakes BAD
My speedo gets to wigglin sometomes
My gears also require yo. To hold yer tongue right
I carry 2 radiators worth of antifreeze, one oil change and 2 batteries everywhere I go
My backseat is essentially a tpolbox
My seats don't move, the driver's even comes loose on tight corners!
My headlights make my fuel mileage seem better till I turn them off

[R.O.R-2.0]

I've got a speaker that comes and goes..  easy to fix..
Sometimes my Idle goes so low the whole car shakes BAD  sounds like an air leak somewhere.
My speedo gets to wigglin sometomes
My gears also require yo. To hold yer tongue right  easy fix, rebuild the shifter
I carry 2 radiators worth of antifreeze, one oil change and 2 batteries everywhere I go  why? thats a bit excessive..
My backseat is essentially a tpolbox
My seats don't move, the driver's even comes loose on tight corners!   easy to rebuild the seat sliders..
My headlights make my fuel mileage seem better till I turn them off    quite impossible.. the headlights put load on the alternator, and load on the engine.