hey i finished work today and went to go home the old bug wouldnt start, tryed 9 auto elects all off for christmas, no racq membership but rang them any way, they sent a contractor out and he charged $80 to turn up 2hrs later then said i needed a relay on my starter motor,as my starter was new,so another $80 for a relay and off he went .he said the wiring was old in my dub and that causes not enough power to starter..voltage short as he said,,,,,,,,,is this true??????????? thanks colleen

guessing bugs are the same as buses in that power from the battery goes to the ignition switchand then back to the startermotor. if the wiring is old and as built up a high resistance it decreases the current flow needed for the starter motor. the new relay is a better setup as the ignition switch will now have a low current circuit and the starter will draw straight off the battery, same setup for spot lights.

An extra relay is better than not having one, but you shouldnt really need one in a bug because the distance is so short from the ignition to the starter (compared to a bus). It may be a problem if your bug is 6v as the wiring connections have to be very good compared to 12v.

I think another relay is probably unecessary, they didnt come like that from the factory. I reckon the problem is in the connections or the battery.

Assuming your starter is in great condition, if it just clicks then it means that the solenoid is getting some juice, but probably not quite enough. Disconnect the battery and give the big terminals on the starter and wires a sand with some emery paper. Do this to the big copper ground strap that goes from your tranny to the chassis.

if this doesnt work check your battery and charging system. with the engine off check the voltage with a voltimeter, it should read above 13volts if your battery is charged. Start the engine, with it running check the voltage again, should be above 14v if your charging system is good.

If all this doesnt work then a relay would help.

Start with the easiest and cheapest.

cool thanks,,,,,,,,, have new battery and starter about 6 weeks ago,,,,,,,,so much wires every where in this car,a lot of auto elect dont like working on them,its makes it hard to get things fixed...properly,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,colleen

u know a kombie came into the car park at work while i was broken down and hey didnt even wave,,,,,,,,how rude,,,,an ambo guy came over to see if car was ok he likes VWs but his wife doesnt,told him to get a new wife hehehh, ive stopped heaps of times when i see a VW on the side of the road,,colleen,,

That's a shame that the guy with the Kombi didn't stop. All of us veedubbers should stick together!