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Author Topic: 81 Pickup 1.6D Electrical nightmare  (Read 6373 times)

September 17, 2019, 10:52:19 am

BryanP

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81 Pickup 1.6D Electrical nightmare
« on: September 17, 2019, 10:52:19 am »
Hello everyone, and thank you to welcoming to your forum! Please forgive my newbie mistakes regarding the forum, I've done some searching and looked through a lot of threads, and figured I'd post this issue here. I got a rabbit hatchback (diesel) a little over a year ago and LOVE LOVE LOVE it, I've driven it from Oregon to Florida and back 3 times now, and have had a great time tinkering with it under the hood; it needed a lot of mechanical work when I got it.

Well last weekend I picked up an 81 Pickup (also diesel), because I've wanted one forever. PO said the timing belt broke, interference happened, and they had to rebuild the engine. They provided all the mechanic's paperwork and said they had driven it a few thousand more miles after the rebuild and were still getting 45-50 mpg... until electrical problems started.

Enter me, I now have the pickup of my dreams, but it has electrical problems. Here's what I know:
Ignition switch must have failed. When the battery is connected everything electrical (that doesn't have a blown fuse) will operate. Battery light comes on, oil light comes on, etc.
They've got the fuel shutoff redirected to a switch inside the cab, so I play the roll of the relay. Relay must have failed.
I get no indication of glow-plug action, so this relay may have failed.
I can crank the starter, and it turns but won't start. The battery was totally dead when I got it, but new. I've been charging the battery and will try again, but I don't feel confident that it's a battery issue.
There is air in the fuel lines, and I'm not sure how old the fuel is, but tonight I'll drain it and give her a fresh tank. It's been sitting for at least 4 mo, probably longer. Bleed the fuel lines?
There's continuity across the whole glowplug busbar, but I haven't pulled them yet to check operation. I'll probably put new ones in regardless.

I guess the larger question is, since they've done such a hack-job wiring this thing together, is it worth it to find a whole new wiring harness, or find failed wires one-by-one and chase new ones through. Also can anyone help me find a source for relays? I'm pretty sure there's a few straight-up missing.

Thank you in advance for reading! You've all been a wealth of knowledge while rebuilding my first rabbit!!!



Reply #1September 17, 2019, 08:36:50 pm

ORCoaster

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Re: 81 Pickup 1.6D Electrical nightmare
« Reply #1 on: September 17, 2019, 08:36:50 pm »
Ah BryanP, 
Yo from the coast of our fine state. 
I too purchased a Rabbit in Roseburg in 2010 and then proceeded to make it the car I needed for the 4.5 hr trip at times from Portland to the coast where I had wife and home.  Portland was the work spot and the commute necessitated a vehicle with mileage.  When diesel went up to around 4 bills a gallon I started running it on filtered waste veg oil.  So a bit of an investment there that I bet I never recovered.

A couple years ago, after retiring I stumbled on an 81 Pickup that needed project finishing.  Some day IF I will stop using as a daily driver and workhorse I will get it painted and all done.  I don't get the 40-50 mpg out of it but that is due to two things, the turbo and tuning it.  Once you get that extra HP under foot it is hard to not use it.  I still get near 30 in town and really don't do the long hauls anymore so maybe I would approach the higher MPG if I continued to drive I 5.

So yeah welcome to the forum.  On to the questions.  Wiring is bad, possible relay problems, GP unsure of and a host of head scratchers.

Ignition switch failed?  If the dash lights like oil and brake and charge lights come on then at least those wires are getting the voltage they need.  I bought a new ignition switch here a bit back and came to find that the contacts were kind of weak and with the starter and GPs pulling a heavy draw initially the switch contacts became bad due to arcing.  So I went with a separate relay for the starter and took the load of that off the switch.  I put a relay on my Rabbit for the GP's but have not done the same for the pickup.  Not sure why.

I don't think there is a relay for the fuel solenoid.  Just power off the back of the ignition.  So having the manual over ride is really just a cheap anti-theft device.  Leave it as is.  No one will be able to figure it out.

No indication of GP action?  You have a meter for 12 vdc don't you?  Tag that buss bar and see if you are getting some voltage of some sort.  If not, look on the firewall, big red wire from buss bar to small box.  It should have a small strip of tin across the two screws.  You can even make a couple of these and keep one in the glove box.  Or?  You can simply replace that fuse with a more modern one in a nice weather tight holder.  I use a fuse from the sound system folks, a nice 40 amp one.  Those are easier to buy than to make one from a piece of roofing tin.  But I did that too.

Ok, if you can crank the starter but it doesn't start I have to ask is that by using the key?  Or a jumper cable from the battery to the starter.  Ignition switch seems fine if you are using the key. 

Cranks but does not start.  Oh man how many threads start with that line????
Without GPs you won't likely get it to start unless you are located in the hot side of the state in July.  You need to verify you have good plugs and to do that you need to take them out an test them. 

DO NOT hold on to them and touch a wire to the battery and ground.  Unless you don't want to do anything with your fingers for awhile. Put them in a pair of vice grips and then hot wire them.  If they don't glow red hot replace them. If they are not smooth and have a nice rounded tip, replace them.  I think between GPs and air in the fuel lines that accounts for 95 percent of the no start diesels. 

Draining the fuel and making it fresh is a good idea.  The IP acts like a big pump that sucks the fuel from the tank and spits it back in over and over again.  Way more fuel goes through it than is used by the injectors.  It is meant to cool the pump and it also will need attention.

Fuel filter might need to be replaced at the same time the fuel swap.  If it has bad juu juu in it that will go to the pump or keep the pump from sucking fuel in.

I think you may know that the fastest way to determine a fuel problem is to eliminate most of it temporarily.  Get a nice stable quart or half gallon container and take the fuel line off the filter and stick it in there. Then do the same for the line coming off the back of the pump.  If you can't get the pump to cycle fuel in that manner you may have a bad vane pump or a blocked line.  Lines clear with pressure or vacuum but the 4 little pieces of metal that make up the vanes on the inside of the IP will require you to A. take the pump apart and free them up. or B. soak it in ATF or diesel purge and hope that breaks them free.

Addressing the hack job wiring is second to addressing the fuse box connections.  Sometimes these cars leak down water into that part and all the contacts become corroded or bad and pulling that fuse box down and giving it and the wires that go to the body of the car for a ground a good brushing will help in a lot of ways. 

As to wiring I would pull all the fuses and relays and only put in the ones needed to get it running.  The GP relay is wrapped up on to the box and not actually in there.  Pull everything out and get back to them after you get it going.  fuses are cheap and you can use a meter to test for a short prior to inserting one if you wish. I would pull new wires and clean contacts before trying to do a different loom.  Chances are the hours you will spend chasing electrical gremlins is going to be huge.  But doing a new loom is not quick either.

Source out parts yards and online sites for relays.  You near Portland or Salem?  They have a good number of Rabbits and you may find what you want for the entry fee you are going to pay them. 

The pickup is just a Rabbit from the front bumper to that back window.  So parts will work from a four door Rabbit on the pickup.  Two door is longer so beware.  Yes I know the truck is a two door but a short door compared to a Rabbit two door.  Trust me I own a two door Rabbit. 

Keep us posted, sorry for the winded reply.  Just a good day to do forums as the rain keeps me off the streets.
Enjoy. 

Reply #2September 17, 2019, 10:02:18 pm

BryanP

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Re: 81 Pickup 1.6D Electrical nightmare
« Reply #2 on: September 17, 2019, 10:02:18 pm »
Hello! Thank you for the detailed response! And it's good to hear from another Oregonian! You don't happen to be in Pacific City, do you? My wife's family lives there and knows a guy with a VW yard.

Where to start!

OK first off I figured out a couple of new things:

1. I'm certain that there is some sort of issue with the ignition switch (although maybe I have terminology incorrect?). I can start it with the key, but there's no shutoff capabilities. In my other rabbit I've got a few positions for the key to be in (off, GP, start) at least, but this one free-spins until start. Everything is operational so long as the battery is plugged in. If I want everything to turn off I have to disconnect the battery. I've replaced all the bad fuses so that I could check. Plus they were toast... so I needed new ones anyway.

2. I checked the glow-plugs and found one that's broken. Well... The others read 12.45V and one reads 10 (battery's at 12.5V atm). I have continuity across the bus bar, and resistance of the bad glowplug is through the roof. I haven't puiled the other three yet to check ohms, but I have 4 new ones en route from autohauz. Still have to check the relay, I'm going to poor-man check it by swapping the GP relay between the truck and hatchback. Luckily I have a perfectly operation rabbit RIGHT NEXT to the truck to use as a reference/diagnostic tool! (Side-note, checking a potentially bad relay in my hatchback will only truly verify the dash light... it was 30F outside at work today and I can still skip the GP cycle entirely on a cold-start to get the rabbit fired up)

3. Drained the tank, gave it 5gal of fresh fuel. Took the intake line off of the fuel filter and blew some air through there in case the screen was clogged before I drained it. Came out pretty clean, so hopefully that's good news and not a huge problem later. Cracked the lines at the injector and cranked it for a while until they quit sputtering. Line from the filter to the IP is pure diesel. I've used your method before to pump a can of seafoam through to clean out the IP/injectors and it works fantastically. I'll give it a shot if it still doesn't start after the GP issue is solved.

4. I think I will indeed leave the switch for the fuel solenoid as-is. In fact, I think I'm going to upgrade the switches housing so I can put more next to it! I'm likely going to do the GP electrical upgrade from vincewaldon and I'll need another switch =) I may also bypass the key entirely and run that off of a switch, it's already a frankentruck, may as well continue the experiment.

5. I've got a tune-up kit made up for me at NAPA near my job-site, just have to go pick it up. Haha dude knows me, I say "Yeah time for the yearly Rabbit checkup" and he makes me a box with oil, oil filter, fuel filter, air filter, etc.

6. Which relays/fuses are necessary for barebones operation? I imagine it'll still start without headlights/taillights and radio and whatnot, but which do I need? GP relay, my fuel solenoid switch, starter...? As you suggest I'll start with the fuse box and work my way back. I've got a bentley and have a haynes shipping to my home this week.

7. I live in Eugene, and work in Salem and Bend. There's an old VW guy owns a shop in Salem, but haven't sourced parts yards yet. It's definitely on my agenda. Problem is I live/work off-grid in the middle of nowhere when the jobs are in Bend, so I have to go pick up boxes of parts on the weekends.

8. New little gem... The inspection port on the transmission for setting timing doesn't have a plug. Didn't on my other rabbit so I bought one and I'll do the same for this one, but... Today I found a dangling thing on a springy cord tucked up under the coolant reservior. It fits into the inspection port perfectly, but there is a wire going to it that runs into the dash on the passenger side, and the wire is stretchy. Any ideas?

9. More new info... I thought something was a little funny when I saw the dash said "unleaded fuel only." Asked PO about it, and get this: At some point the truck was in a wreck. Front end was replaced with a rabbit hatchback front, seats were replaced from a newer (lol early 90s) golf, and the dash came from an 81 gasser. Must have used the old instrument panels, cause it has a glow plug light RIGHT NEXT to the "unleaded fuel only." I'm guessing that whoever did this left me a good deal of wiring to redo.

Thank you so much for the reply! I knew I came to the right place. I'll post pictures, too, when I figure out how =P
You're awesome!

Reply #3September 18, 2019, 12:33:22 pm

ORCoaster

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Re: 81 Pickup 1.6D Electrical nightmare
« Reply #3 on: September 18, 2019, 12:33:22 pm »
Sounds like you have a pretty good handle on things to do.  Nice to have the reference Rabbit.  I do the same thing between mine.  Bad alternator suspected?  Pull one from Rabbit insert in Caddy.  Or vice Vera. 

Sounds like the ignition switch is toast. Which is really a bummer BECAUSE to replace it is a lot of work and if you are not a skinny wiry dude working under the dash down by the floor board is going to be painful.  You have a Bentley coming so you will see that to remove the key switch you need to remove the steering wheel and column. I did that twice and getting that knuckle in the bottom of the steering column was just about more than I  cared to do.  Don't know why it was so hard to line up and get set but it was. I even opened it wide and used grease.  It was like the splines were buggered up and only would go back in the way it came out. So lots of turning and trying till I found it.  Oh and that spring clip at the column bottom, An absolute pain in the everything.

# 2, 3, 4, 5, check

Minimum relays I can think of are GP, 12 vdc to the fuel solenoid and 12 vdc to the starter relay side and good connection from the battery.  That is the beauty of these rigs.  Some call it run on one wire, the fuel solenoid. But actually you need a few more.  But I think that is all you really need to get it going.  To keep it going you should have the alternator working and that also takes a blue wire back to the instrument panel.

Speaking of instrument panel.  If you ever had one apart you will see that they all have the proper holes for everything so my guess is the PO knew or figured it out and just dropped the led for the GP in place and that is why it shows on the dash.
If you want a dash that actually says diesel fuel only I can dig in my stash and see if I have one.  Most just paint over that so someone doesn't try to fuel up with the wrong stuff.  Although if you read in an owners manual you will find that to stop fuel from gelling up in cold weather VW recommended adding a gallon of gas to the tank at fill up.  Good luck getting an attendant to do that at the pump!!!

#7  Good to have the VW for the Commutes

#8 Might have to trace back the wire on the other side of the dash to see if it connects to the fuse box.  It might be something the PO deleted or added like fog lights and just didn't remember it tucked up in there.  If it fits the hole use it for now.  No sense getting water in there, or worse, a nut or wrench.
Don't ask how I know that.

#9 above.

Hope you have a garage there in Eugene.  Did you buy the truck there?  I did a couple of years ago myself.  Seems to be plenty in town for the 2500 or less price.  But you have to know how to make em go.  Sounds like you have that in hand. 


Reply #4September 18, 2019, 01:59:10 pm

BryanP

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Re: 81 Pickup 1.6D Electrical nightmare
« Reply #4 on: September 18, 2019, 01:59:10 pm »
Well I've got a game plan at least. Haven't had to do too much electrical so far, but I'm an engineer, if I can't figure it out I'll have to give back my degree.

Could be a bad alternator too. POs description "I don't know, things started going off one at a time on a drive home and it wouldn't start again" leads me to believe a short somewhere that started popping fuses. Wouldn't a bad alternator make everything kinda twinkle off at the same time?

Ignition switch... I've been researching online on how to change it out and I'm in agreement with out... MAJOR pain in the everything. Luckily I'm a skinny wirey guy, but I'm still only an amateur when it comes to mechanics-yoga. I think I'll stick with my backup plan and bypass the switch entirely and make a cool toggle-switch panel like in an airplane!

So assuming a working alternator AND exciter wire, my fuel-switch in the cab, a direct-wire to the glow-plugs (just to cycle it once at least, bypass the GP relay) and the fact that the starter turns with the key should get up and running. If it starts and the alternator turns out to be bad OR the exciter wire is toast/missing/disconnected, it should just run until the battery can't support it any longer, yeah? Should also let me know that the built-in GP circuitry needs addressed, yeah? I'll try it tonight! I've got three good GP and one that's shot, but that should still be enough to get it to start I hope. I know I know I know... I need to check compression at some point. Mostly I want to get it started for diagnostic purposes; I'll redneck it together to get it running and make my formalize my redneck-engineering once I know what I need/want to replace.

If you happen to have a diesel instrument panel I would be ecstatic! Let me know if you do, I'll HAPPILY buy it off of you! More of a "cool factor" than anything.

I dropped an o-ring into my transmission inspection port the first time I set the timing on my Rabbit... Found it during an oil change right after, luckily. I'll put that plug in anyway and let you know what the other end is connected to, if/when I find it. I did notice right away that the flywheel looked good, but after turning it and getting it in a new position... it's covered in rust. What do you think, frequent oil changes and some cleaner additive get rid of it and clean it out internally? Either way I'll be changing the oil/filter before I drive it anywhere, hopefully there isn't water in the oil system.

I do have a garage, but unfortunately it's not big enough (with storage racks along one side) to fit the Caddy AND allow me to get out of the vehicle. I bought the truck in Eugene, yes, for $3000, and it came with a tiny trailer too, and a camper shell. PO had ripped the rear bumper off and welded on a tube-steel frame with a hitch. Pretty fun, but I'm not going to be pulling anything heavy, that's for sure.

Reply #5September 18, 2019, 06:51:15 pm

BryanP

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Re: 81 Pickup 1.6D Electrical nightmare
« Reply #5 on: September 18, 2019, 06:51:15 pm »
IT LIVES!!!

SO! I took the glow plug relay out entirely and cycled them myself with a jumper cable from the +batt to GP4, let the bus bar take care of the others. Pulled the advance knob, kicked on the fuel shutoff, cycled the GP twice at 10sec (it's 36F and I know one is bad), and BOOM fired right up!

Let it idle for a while, battery showed 12V at idle. Checked inside, batt and oil light were still on. gave the engine a good rev and now the batt reads 13.46V while idling. Looks like alternator is good and has a good exciter!

Still doesn't let me know if the GP relay is good, but since I'm going doing the vincewaldon "Pimp my glowplugs" mod this weekend... I don't need the relay at all.

Still just going to bypass the ignition switch altogether and run it all off of toggle switches... If the time comes to pass where I have to dig that far into the dash/steering column anyway then I'll do it then. For now, I'm just excited to hear the thing fire up!

Next on the list:
Install manual battery disconnect so I don't have to pop the hood every time I get somewhere
GP bypass wiring (pimp my glowplugs)
Ensure all running lights work
Figure out what's up with the vent system, the blower won't turn on in the cab
Toggle-switch anything I have to bypass
Calculate fuel mileage =)

Reply #6September 18, 2019, 07:54:16 pm

libbydiesel

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Re: 81 Pickup 1.6D Electrical nightmare
« Reply #6 on: September 18, 2019, 07:54:16 pm »
I would simply fix everything to stock with the exception of a couple upgrades if desired (e.g. glow plugs, headlight relay, etc...).  I wouldn't run hack wiring.  These electrical systems are dead simple and fixing them is much easier if they aren't hacked up.  If they are hacked up, the simplest way to fix them is to return them to stock following the wiring diagram.  Adding toggles to bypass stock wiring sounds like you are creating a future nightmare, not eliminating one.   

Reply #7September 18, 2019, 11:59:54 pm

ORCoaster

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Re: 81 Pickup 1.6D Electrical nightmare
« Reply #7 on: September 18, 2019, 11:59:54 pm »
I didn't think it would be hard to fire up.  I think you mentioned it sitting for about a half a year?  Nothing compared to some of those stories about dragging Grampas or uncles Rabbit out of the back field and getting it to do the same with just a bit more work. 

Libby!!!!!  Nice  to see you back. 

BryanP, motor for the blower might be stuck.  I had that happen to me and it isn't hard to get it out.  You just need to remove the windshield wiper motor and it wouldn't hurt to service that anyway once it is out.  After all you don't exactly live where the sun shines 300 days a year.  Wipers are a necessity. 

Blower is easy to service and you might need to look down the hole and see if there is anything on the top of the ductwork, like a mouse house or wad of something from critters.  Check the workings of those cables.  They can become loose or disconnected from their proper places and I have found a couple of narrow zip ties works well enough to hold them in place.  The outer cable that is not the inner.  Don't forget the valve under the hood for heat, defroster needs that in Central OR too. 

I think Waldons GP mod did use the GP relay to activate the one you will be adding.  It supplies the voltage for the correct amount of time both before and after you start the car.  If you do just go with a switch to activate a separate relay make sure you give yourself a light on it or the switch so you don't end up driving around with the GP's on all the time.  They won't last long doing that. 


Sounds like you are up and running.  Good for you.  Check PM for more infor on speedo face. 

Reply #8September 20, 2019, 10:30:53 am

BryanP

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Re: 81 Pickup 1.6D Electrical nightmare
« Reply #8 on: September 20, 2019, 10:30:53 am »
Yeah, and she runs great! Haven't gotten it out of first gear yet though, the roads on my job site are HORRIFIC. We have a running tally on a big posterboard for destroyed tires and oil pans. Luckily none of them are mine, yet. The engine sounds great, light gray haze on idle (after the initial cloud from startup and sitting). Once it's all warm I can full-throttle and get a tiny puff of whitish/grayish smoke and that's about it. Again, haven't put it under any real load yet, and I haven't done my tuneup yet.

Blower motor was indeed stuck, but I got it working. More on how below. There's a ton of debris in the lines and it sounds like bats are trying to scratch their way out, so I took off all the covers in the cab and I'm hoping I can blow it all out that way. If not, I've got a small flexible vacuum, I'll try to do it that way.

Gremlins =)
So initially I had no lights anywhere, no radio, no heater blower, no headlights/turnlights/running lights or anything. So I dig around and find a bunch of disconnected wires. There was ONE wire coming off the drivers headlight that, turns out, grounds the ENTIRE electrical system. Once I connected that back to the ground on the battery, most everything turns on and runs fine! Three things don't work now: wipers, running lights and rear turn signals. I had one of them working for a minute or two but it cut out. I suspect grounds and bulbs here too. I found a chewed-through wire between the tailgate and bumper; i'm assuming a ground since it's bolted straight to the bumper. (PO made a DIY bumper with a hitch out of some square steel) Also the contacts inside of the bulb socket are disgusting, so I'll clean/replace those.

I have power to the windshield washer pump, but not to the wipers, so I'm not yet suspecting the wiper switch. It feels solid and functional (ie 'clicks' when it's supposed to, really well too). I'm going to keep digging into the wiring though, I suspect bad grounds all over the place. PLUS there are still a bunch of disconnected wires just floating around under the hood. 300 days of sun? Try 300 days of rain  =/

Weekend projects, assuming I can get the wipers to work this morning so I can drive it from Bend to Eugene:

Run new wiring for headlights, looks like there's about 10x too much wire involved in the stock wiring. I'm getting like 8-9V at the headlight bulb when my battery is sitting at 13.5-13.7. Theory is less wire at a larger gauge should reduce resistance and therefor provide more voltage and more current. I've got a ton of 12g wire so I'll probably just use that.

Pimping out my glowplugs. I've got everything I need (solenoid, wires, switch, fuse-block, etc.). I've determined that the GP relay has failed, it doesn't operate in my rabbit, but the from in my rabbit operates in the caddy. On the bad one, the light stays on forever but there's no voltage on the bus bar. Again, the upgrade should involve a shorter connection from the battery to the glow plug, as well as individually fuse each GP for diagnostics. That's the theory at least.

Deep clean the old girl, PO did not have very good hygiene ethics.

Libby, I'm going to keep what I can stock, but I'm still going to run switches for the glowplugs. I agree that I'll be chasing wires for hours and hours, and it'll be just as easy to route new wires as it will to modify things. Although if I find a system where I can reduce the amount of wire involved (such as the headlights and GP) I'm going to shorten that length and reattach to the original harness. One benefit of doing it myself is that I am a big fan of clearly labeling what I do =)

Thanks for the input, both of you. It's been wildly helpful!
B

Reply #9September 23, 2019, 11:36:27 pm

BryanP

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Re: 81 Pickup 1.6D Electrical nightmare
« Reply #9 on: September 23, 2019, 11:36:27 pm »
Well I drove her from Bend all the way to Eugene and back this weekend! Runs like a champ! The radiator fan seems to have a mind of its own, definitely gotta get that figured out.

Over the weekend I performed vincewaldons "pimp my glowplugs" and holy moly does that work amazingly well. Each GP is now individually fused, and I have a solenoid powering them off of a switch in the cab. Hold the button, count to 7, and vroom vroom.

Next is lights, I have headlights, blinkers (now that I've replaced the sockets in the back), and fog lights, but no reverse or runners. I'll probably relay the headlights too, they've been tampered with and all the lights on the front run through a single tiny 20awg ground. It gets very hot when I have the lights on for too long.

Reply #10September 24, 2019, 10:27:53 pm

ORCoaster

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Re: 81 Pickup 1.6D Electrical nightmare
« Reply #10 on: September 24, 2019, 10:27:53 pm »
If you put your hand on the headlight switch you may find that gets hot as well.  I vote for the relays for both high beam and low beam.  With that ride up to the snow country coming up you might enjoy the brighter whiter light that will come from getting a good solid 13 volts to the headlights.

Just like the GP's no loss from the relay to the load. 


Reply #11September 25, 2019, 11:42:32 am

BryanP

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Re: 81 Pickup 1.6D Electrical nightmare
« Reply #11 on: September 25, 2019, 11:42:32 am »
Ah good call on double relays. So what do you think, 2 relays per light (4 total)? Or think it'll be just as well with a single relay for both high beams, and a single relay for both low beams? Also, I've got two headlights per side, two round ones side-by-side, the inside two a bit larger than the others. The outer ones do not work presently. Should I wire them as high-beams, or double up on low-beams? Also are LEDs an option? I know I have dual-filament for low/high, but if I can reduce the load on the alternator while the lights are on it should reduce the load on the engine as well, yeah?

Installed an analog voltmeter in the dash, learned something new!
When I turn on my right blinker, the needle flickers between like... 13 and 13.3V. When I turn on my LEFT blinker, it flickers from 13.3 to 10V. Definitely something up there; that light also blinks twice as fast. I know in other cars the faster blinking is already indicative of something going wrong, so I was already suspect. The voltmeter just solidified my suspicions.

Got my Bentley and my Haynes in the mail! Bummer is I don't get back home from work until Friday (I work 4 hours from home mon-fri). Hopefully I can get all this electrical nonsense over with this weekend. Then I can move on to the exhaust =)

I noticed that the exhaust manifold output is 2 1/2 inches (or so), but the toilet bowl connection necks the rest of the exhaust downstream to like 1 1/4 inches. That's a huge reduction! I can only imagine that they just used the gasser exhaust since they already had them in production... But the gassers need the backpressure, these NA diesels want unrestricted airflow, am I correct? The valve is closed, so backpressure only allows exhaust back into the chamber where the valve is open, yeah? Anyway I'm gonna make the rest of the exhaust match the manifold exit because I can. Is there a different manifold I can buy that DOESN'T have the stupid spring clip clamps? Those things are a PITA.

Thank you again for all your input!!!

Reply #12September 25, 2019, 11:14:17 pm

ORCoaster

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Re: 81 Pickup 1.6D Electrical nightmare
« Reply #12 on: September 25, 2019, 11:14:17 pm »
Bryan,
I have mine set up on the original wiring so that one relay controls the high, one controls the low beams.  I just worked backwards from the black three wire clip that plugs into the headlight.  Turned on the low beams and figure what color wire to use and then again for the high side.  Use that Brand new Bentley and find the Caddy wiring diagram.  Sort of near the back of the bunch if I remember right.

I wouldn't go for LEDs right yet.  Keep the costs down as you need the cash to figure out the rest of the problems.  Why upgrade when getting it working better will be cheaper?

Sounds like one bulb is not flashing in its socket with the left side.  Just turn it on and walk around it.  Time to clean some grounds and sockets. 

As for exhaust if you already have a 2.5 inch coming from the manifold doughnut to the tail pipe you do just need to swap that exhaust manifold.  I think I have one from an 8V it has a flange that bolts on to a two pipe outlet.  Nice and unrestricted.  I will double check on that as I was given several manifolds over the years and I was just about to take them to the scraper. 

I took off the original one and put the turbo on  and it has a different set up.  Out of the turbo is a big ole elbow and it got welded onto the 2.5 inch pipe and the rest of the system. 

And the spring clips are not so hard to work with if you use the backwards muffler clamp hack/mod that I think is still in the stickys on this site.  You use it to push the springs apart or open by turning the nuts off from the inside of the clamp turned backwards.  Go look. 

Later.

Reply #13September 25, 2019, 11:35:06 pm

libbydiesel

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Re: 81 Pickup 1.6D Electrical nightmare
« Reply #13 on: September 25, 2019, 11:35:06 pm »
http://vwdiesel.net/forum/index.php/topic,37275.msg348677.html#msg348677

I posted that a while back.  They have been absolutely awesome!  The lighting difference is waaaayyyy better than relays.  Even relays with high wattage e-code H4 bulbs can't compare and the cost is incredible.  With proper stock wiring there is no need for relays either, as the wattage is lower than stock bulbs despite the lighting being an order of magnitude better.  Seriously.

I thought they were a steal when I first got them for $90.  You can now get the same ones for $50.  That's a no-brainer for me just for the safety factor. 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Pair-DOT-7-Inch-Round-LED-Headlight-Hi-Lo-for-Jeep-Wrangler-JK-Unlimited-Rubicon/174019937302?hash=item2884658416%3Ag%3AKawAAOSwKpFdcHog&LH_BIN=1

If you go that route, be sure to aim them properly per the danielstern link in the linked thread so you aren't "that guy".
« Last Edit: September 25, 2019, 11:39:47 pm by libbydiesel »

Reply #14September 26, 2019, 12:27:14 am

ORCoaster

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Re: 81 Pickup 1.6D Electrical nightmare
« Reply #14 on: September 26, 2019, 12:27:14 am »
OK Libby, the voice of reason has convinced me that maybe if he is going to do anything to improve his lights IT should be the LEDS.

Didn't you at one time mention the advantages of the bowl exhaust over some of the other manifold types?

I ask this only because I just came in from digging out two manifolds and examining them.  The old doughnut one has a 2 and 1/8 inch diameter with a 1/8 inch piece of metal down the middle.  Seems pretty open and unrestricted to me. 

The other one was the one I just took off my Caddy, the four to two to one pipe with the triangle flange on it. Now that opening is only a mere 1 and 3/8 inches in diameter.  Not what I expected to see at all.  Thought it was more like 2 inches.  Must have been the flange messing with me.

So I think Bryan has what he wants.  A good open exhaust.  True or Not True? 

It may depend on how the shop or PO fabricated the flange to the larger diameter pipe.  If indeed they just cut off the weenie small 1 and 1/4 diameter and welded on a fitting to get to 2.5 inches then there would be a restriction.  But if they came off the flange to the larger pipe directly then I don't think there is an issue. 

Your take? 

Bryan, you catching this?
Check your email for a picture of the two side by side on the floor of my shop.  You can see it there.

 

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