hey everyone.

ive started making wiring diagrams so i can rewire the baja and get rid of the spaghetti spiders web.

ive noticed my headlights run off the fuse box straight from the feed wire that comes from the regulator before it passes through the fuse. this then goes to the relay and to the lights without going though a fuse. shouldnt this be running through the fuse?

Nicknn[ Edited on 1-9-2005 by Anthiron ]

Yes,all circuits should hava fuse or circuit breaker,its your ONLY protection from melting wires if theres a short.

or you could tape a couple of torches on the front and just dont worry bout rewiring the lights, tis much easier nick, and get one of them bicycle horns with the squeezy thing.. come to think of it, use hand signals and you could probly not worry bout rewiring at all, think how much cleaner it would look

the headlights should be fused. i think in most models they had a twin fuse holder mounted down the left hand side of the fuel tank. (that is where they are located in the 57 i have anyway).
Just make sure you use suitable wire size and wire connectors.
i rewired mine last week and found a "blade" type fuse holder (can get them in 4's or 8's).
can use automotive crimp lug connectors to join to the fuses.

yeah im going to use a blade fuse box. thanks guys......except latham...

ok. a couple more questions.

when hooking up an amps guage its hooked up in series. i want to hook it up to measure the current being drawn through the main feed wire from the regulator.

this will mean it is on all the time though. is this the norm? or is there a way around this? will the amps guage draw current? therefore draining battery slowly? or does it only measure current and will just sit at 0 amps when lights etc are off and car not running?

same with volts guage. whats the best way too hook it up for best reading. with it only on with ignition.

Nick

ok amps gauge in series so in line and the volt gauge in parallel to the system so tapped of the ignition the the other side to earth. im getting this from basic electronics theory so correct me if im wrong

yeah i know they have to be in series and paralell respectively. i can hook them up fine im just worried about them being hooked up constantly. i spose i could hook the voltsguage from the ignition switch to be on only when ignition is. thats ok.......but amps to be showing the reading i want would have to be hooked up to constant power.

does an amps guage draw power or does it just give a reading?

had to have a think about this one and the answer i can think of is yes it does draw power but its tiny so you wont notice but if you leave it for a month or so you will notice it.

alrighty well this will be my wiring diagram ill be going off.

damn wiring is complicated!!

power usage by the gauges will depend on how they are hooked up. some gauges have an external power source so that when ignition off they draw zero current (like in late model cars etc). if the gauges you have dont have this and are powered when ignition off then voltmeter will constantly read and drain current (though it is a tiny amount) and this will also depend on where you hook it in as you have said... and this current drain will happen with the ammeter also. if you have documentation for the ammeter you can work out how much current the gauge will draw. but as has also been said it is soooooooooooooooooooo small that you would only notice if you left the car without running it for a few weeks.
hth

the ammeter is an old VDO guage. just has the in line serial terminals on the back. no external power. should be ok to hook it up like this then....


ooops i forgot the fuel guage and the rear indicator wires.

just make sure you use big enough wire for it... take into account the amount of current to pass through it etc.

for sure.

Wow mate good to see your getting into the project, I hate the spider web looms all vw's seem affected with but a re-wire is a bit too daunting for me.

Should be interesting to see how all this pans out!

Spiderweb looms. Had to have a laugh at this. Today I was going through disconnecting wires to drop the motor on my van. The wiring is scary! So many wires that aren't connected, ones that have been spliced together, ones mssing that should be there etc. A rewiring would be daunting.

Top points for your diagram! It's very pretty If you want to get your lines straight in paint next time though, try holding down shift when you draw them. it restricts you to 45degree increments. It has the same sort of effect on other tools too.

i prolly could have made a nicer diagram in something better like autocad but i started doing a dodgy one in paint and couldnt be bothered dfoing a better one lol.

You don't needanything more than paint to make a diagram. as long as you understand it,that's all that matters.

Just today I was wishing I had an ammeter in the van. Just call me distrustful of the electrics.