Looking for someone to rewire my 1971 beetle in NEW JERSEY

[71baja]

I have a 1971 vw beetle and someone of the electronics dont work. blinkers and taillights dont work. also the battery has no charge. The wiring in the car is god awful and a mess. im looking for someone or a shop even that knows how to re wire a 1971 beetle. i would prefer re wiring the entire car so its brand new wiring. but ill take what i can get. anyone with any info will be extremely helpful thank you.

[LooseNuts]

hes kinda in your area
http://www.401restos.com/Pages/default.aspx

[71baja]

hmm thats kind of far. like 3 hours or so. ill keep him in mind but i would need something closer. thanks though

[burnt63]

where in nj are you?
also you could just order a new harness and take a stab at wiring it yourself.

[71baja]

Central new jersey. theres a huge vw scene near me. but i tried googling classic vw shops and there arent any that can help me. i might just do it myself, your right. but im a little scared because alot of people that i called told me "i dont know what im getting myself into" but how hard could it possibly be? i also have a 2006 mitsu Evo IX and i do all the work to that car myself. and the ironic part is that im having more trouble figuring out this little bug in terms of wiring than with the evo. but i guess i didnt need to trace all wires in the car to figure out if they work or not. i just ordered an idiots guide, and some videos on how to do it but im not an electrician and i need some help

[zzzdanz]

A new harness and a diagram ...or look for a vw club and buy some beers

[buggyman]

Central new jersey. theres a huge vw scene near me. but i tried googling classic vw shops and there arent any that can help me. i might just do it myself, your right. but im a little scared because alot of people that i called told me "i dont know what im getting myself into" but how hard could it possibly be? i also have a 2006 mitsu Evo IX and i do all the work to that car myself. and the ironic part is that im having more trouble figuring out this little bug in terms of wiring than with the evo. but i guess i didnt need to trace all wires in the car to figure out if they work or not. i just ordered an idiots guide, and some videos on how to do it but im not an electrician and i need some help

where in nj are you?
also you could just order a new harness and take a stab at wiring it yourself.

Dayo 71 ,
Starting fresh with a whole new harness not hard at all because you won't have all the curves thrown at you a bad harness does:
http://www.google.com/#sclient=psy-a...w=1280&bih=806
plus once you see things starting to work you'll know why & how they work & you'll have the satisfaction of knowing what went wrong when it doesn't .
Print out the appropriate wiring diagram for your car so that you can have it readily at hand while hooking things up .
I created a whole wiring harness for my sandrail from just differently sized & colored wire:
"Are there packages (kits) to do this?
Not really,especially in a buggy or rail as opposed to a full bodied car,more a matter of mapping out what's there,creating a handdrawn wiring harness diagram of what you're gonna tear out,think of features that you'd want to add in,and surf around a little for a manufactured harness that at least meets those needs or fabricate one from scratch.
Then it's a matter of installing all the seperate 12V components and backtesting them for continuity before clickin' the key for the 1st time while holding a fire extinguisher in the other hand like I did ."
from
http://www.chircoestore.com/catalog/...p?topic=4083.0
"Probably looked like an idiot holding a fire extinguisher in my left hand and my head turned away while clickin' the start key with my right hand for the 1st time farrr outside the garage ,but since it did fire right up and ran perfect I knew that I did the job right,20+yrs of no electrical glitches ,I'd rip and tear it all out until you decide on either a return to an open buggy format or a Manx style body,there would be considerable differences in how you would approach each one wiringwise ."
from
http://www.chircoestore.com/catalog/...?topic=3998.25
I did that in 1982 when I was 24yrs old with little to no formal wiring training previously & no outside help,just me & the wiring diagram.
Go for it bro ,you have nothing to lose & everything to gain because you have nothing working now .

[buggyman]

A new harness and a diagram ...or look for a vw club and buy some beers

Da best 71 ,thanks zzz .

[po7g]

i think Painless wiring sells a wiring harness that you can buy and a good website for wiring diagrams is http://www.vintagebus.com/ good luck on getting it fixed. Wiring is a intimidating thing to do because there are so many wires in a car. you might be able to use the wiring in your car just might have to go threw it.

[eggman95]

I have a 1971 vw beetle and someone of the electronics dont work. blinkers and taillights dont work. also the battery has no charge. The wiring in the car is god awful and a mess. im looking for someone or a shop even that knows how to re wire a 1971 beetle. i would prefer re wiring the entire car so its brand new wiring. but ill take what i can get. anyone with any info will be extremely helpful thank you.

http://www.foreigncarwerks.com/

Give these guys a call. They specialize on air-cooleds. I've used to have my transmission replaced.

[blockheater]

Hodi's garage in oldbridge is an amazing place and they do great work there.The guy that runs its a nice guy too

[71baja]

thanks you all. this is very useful information. I got the full bug me videos collection and all the guides i could find for restoring a super beetle. it looks extremely easy to do. and i would take my time and make sure everything is safe and connected properly. and since i want all the wiring new im going to rip out everything.

A question i have though is, DO i have to pull the engine to get to the wires in the back? is there no other way?

also i will most definitely be checking out foreignautowerks and the oldbridge guys. I live right next to old bridge, im in East Brunswick.

Ive been studying the wiring diagrams and watching videos. and the only thing i might have trouble with is that pulling of the engine. id prefer not to. but if its a must, well then i guess ill have to.

[71baja]

http://www.foreigncarwerks.com/

Give these guys a call. They specialize on air-cooleds. I've used to have my transmission replaced.

they look awesome. but they are probably extremely expensive right?

[71baja]

Dayo 71 ,
Starting fresh with a whole new harness not hard at all because you won't have all the curves thrown at you a bad harness does:
http://www.google.com/#sclient=psy-a...w=1280&bih=806
plus once you see things starting to work you'll know why & how they work & you'll have the satisfaction of knowing what went wrong when it doesn't .
Print out the appropriate wiring diagram for your car so that you can have it readily at hand while hooking things up .
I created a whole wiring harness for my sandrail from just differently sized & colored wire:
"Are there packages (kits) to do this?
Not really,especially in a buggy or rail as opposed to a full bodied car,more a matter of mapping out what's there,creating a handdrawn wiring harness diagram of what you're gonna tear out,think of features that you'd want to add in,and surf around a little for a manufactured harness that at least meets those needs or fabricate one from scratch.
Then it's a matter of installing all the seperate 12V components and backtesting them for continuity before clickin' the key for the 1st time while holding a fire extinguisher in the other hand like I did ."
from
http://www.chircoestore.com/catalog/...p?topic=4083.0
"Probably looked like an idiot holding a fire extinguisher in my left hand and my head turned away while clickin' the start key with my right hand for the 1st time farrr outside the garage ,but since it did fire right up and ran perfect I knew that I did the job right,20+yrs of no electrical glitches ,I'd rip and tear it all out until you decide on either a return to an open buggy format or a Manx style body,there would be considerable differences in how you would approach each one wiringwise ."
from
http://www.chircoestore.com/catalog/...?topic=3998.25
I did that in 1982 when I was 24yrs old with little to no formal wiring training previously & no outside help,just me & the wiring diagram.
Go for it bro ,you have nothing to lose & everything to gain because you have nothing working now .

Best Forum Response Ever, Cheers

[dunkelxson]

is south amboy there is a classic car restoration shop and he may be able to do it

[basti-FSI]

A question i have though is, DO i have to pull the engine to get to the wires in the back? is there no other way?

no you needn't to swap the engine. the wiring goes through the c-pillar on the drivers side between outside and inside metalsheets. maybe there's some polyurethan-sud (dunno if this is the right description u use in the us) in the c-pillar. you can push throgh this with a long metal-stick (welding wire works well). you need to glue the wires pretty tight to that wire. maybe you need thee or four tries to geht both the wire and the stick to the enginebay, but it works fine.......finally and you'll feel like a boss.

you can see where the wiring goes on this picture i made while pulling 4 extra wires behind

[71baja]

no you needn't to swap the engine. the wiring goes through the c-pillar on the drivers side between outside and inside metalsheets. maybe there's some polyurethan-sud (dunno if this is the right description u use in the us) in the c-pillar. you can push throgh this with a long metal-stick (welding wire works well). you need to glue the wires pretty tight to that wire. maybe you need thee or four tries to geht both the wire and the stick to the enginebay, but it works fine.......finally and you'll feel like a boss.

you can see where the wiring goes on this picture i made while pulling 4 extra wires behind

ok thats good., i was following the wires in the rear and it does lead into where the picture is showing.. so the only wires that are actually behind the engine are for the tail lights and brake lights?. also i might just pull the engine anyway because i might want to take it apart and clean it. it runs, but not perfect. it shakes alot and i have to pump the throttle to heat it up because othewise it will stall.

and most important is that i replace the wires running from the regulator to the engine. i can clearly see rotting wires attached to the engine and the alternator looks new but theres no charge on the battery. the D+ side looks rotted out and some other wires are just hanging. i just bought a complete wire loom for the car. so ill have everything i need. and if your saying i dont need to pull the engine. well then thats fantastic because ill get started right away with rewiring the vehicle myself. Some shops around me are charging 1000 dollars to do it. (way over priced given how easy it is compared to new cars. but thats neither here nor there.) Anyway, Any other info/tips/tricks to make my life slightly more easy when tackling this project is extremely appreciated. ill be working on this for the next week or so. i dont think it will take that long once i strip the car down to bone.

[eggman95]

they look awesome. but they are probably extremely expensive right?

I'm not sure what they would charge for what you are looking for. You should just call and they will give you a very close estimate.

[basti-FSI]

ok thats good., i was following the wires in the rear and it does lead into where the picture is showing.. so the only wires that are actually behind the engine are for the tail lights and brake lights?.

yes that's right. nothing more (except the licenceplate-light)

also i might just pull the engine anyway because i might want to take it apart and clean it. it runs, but not perfect. it shakes alot and i have to pump the throttle to heat it up because othewise it will stall.

cleaning is one important thing. all the oil, dust and dirt is bad for cooling. so brush it (carefully) with a high pressure-cleaner. make sure you dont spray on holes and clean it. i used huge amounts of spraycans (bbq-grill cleaner, brake cleaner, oil remover) togehter with a toothbrush and several metal/ copper brushes. clean the heads! scratch all that Sh17 out of there with a screwdriver or what so ever. your engine needs air.

my engine before, while, after






BUT ensure you get you carburettor be adjusted by a mechanic to get it smooth running. this is also important to run the engine the right way and not to fat/ thin.

and most important is that i replace the wires running from the regulator to the engine. i can clearly see rotting wires attached to the engine and the alternator looks new but theres no charge on the battery. the D+ side looks rotted out and some other wires are just hanging.

i can imagine how it looks like. replace them all. this works fine for a long time and all of a sudden your car burns like hell because of these broken wires. changing all is NOT difficult. but you need to be patient. though the technic is pretty easy and the car is small it takes it's time. don't hurry. do it right. chill. think.

P.S. buy freezerbags and tape to organize anything you remove. you'll thank yourself for doing this when putting it together. also pics pics pics pics and once more pics you made before help a lot.