Club 80-90 Forums

Going to do it as per wikki -Thanks CK.
There is a massive cable clamped on the positive battery post which goes through the floor beneath the seat. Big Herb says the original cable to starter will be attached to throttle sleeve above fuel tank so it's not just a matter of pulling it through the floor and snipping. Is there an easy way of making the old starter cable safe before fitting the new?

Eh ???

Your '89 DG van has a 70mm starter cable, this is perfectly fine for cranking your engine.

There is no benefit whatever to be had from 'upgrading' it.

PS. I assume you've checked your battery and engine earths.

Yep battery and earths all new. I was going to put a thicker cable to the dash but the Wikki says do starter cable first. I bought new 35mm cable from BW on the understanding that the original would have deteriorated which would be causing resistance. The cable that goes through the floor could well be 70mm but by the time it emerges from above the petrol tank heading towards the engine its not

86-on waterboxers of all variants are shown as having the same 70mm sq. cable from battery positive to the starter. The part number is 251971228L, length is 273cm.

If the one on your van is of a lower spec, possibly its previously been modified by someone with inadequate skills or materials. If you put it back to factory spec, you should find it works as designed.

See: http://syncrosport.com/info/wiring/WBX_ ... _cable.pdf

I'll get on to it. Just to double check, the cable should still be 70mm when it reaches the starter?

The starter cable on my caravelle which was auto still has the original starter cable and its 70 mm on to the starter.

If you are going to fit things like new cables or pipes, join the new on to the old and pull and feed through so the route is the same. Just done my fuel pipes like this and it saved a lot of time .

Cheers for that. I've been told its likely to be fixed above petrol tank and can't be pulled through. Having said that if it's been tampered with that may longer be the case. The previous owner told me he was an engineer

I wonder if I can use the 35mm for the dash upgrade

I routed mine alongside the tank when I wired up to dash. You can always snip old cables where they vanish and just run a new one from A to B - thats what I did.

Cheers. Charge is back at 14.25 so I think the starter cable's OK. Going to do the dash one though

If you are seeing a problematic voltage drop at the dash, the very first thing I suggest you do is renew the earthing points.

Most of the circuits at the front of the van are earthed by the two earth crowns on the A-pillar. As their location is prone to moisture, the crowns themselves, the screws, and the holes they go into get rusty over time, causing increased resistance.

I fit M6 studs (pics below) and move the high current consumers onto them. I also fit headlight relays. With these two changes everything works fine and I've FWIW never been motivated to make any other changes, the factory battery connection to the relay plate seems adequate. Both my vans have the 450watt fan, which has a separate battery connection, which may help a bit.

Thanks for the pics, very handy. I've already renewed the crowns but it's a good idea to get a couple of dedicated earths. I've got the light relay kit and I've already bought 16mm cable, lugs etc for Covkids wiki entry so I'll do it.

What started it was that batteries were going flat which has been put right by refurbing alternator an fitting new cables and problems starting where i'd just get a click.
I also go through ignition switches a few times a year so I've fitted a hot start relay and hoped the bigger cable to the dash would help take load off the ignition.

You won't regret it. In my experience (even going right back to the 1980s before the T25 was even on the drawing board), poor charging and unreliable starting is often symptomatic of old corroded main cables and as I've said before, the VW power circuit was barely adequate even from new. 30 years later we place much greater demands on the wiring system so a fresh start is essential. Done too much laying in deep snow in my youth to want to do it any more

Didn't order quite enough 16mm arrgh. Got loads of 35mm but I think its too hefty for junction box. Going to do the light relay for now. Can anyone tell me which wire I intecept for power to new harness?

If by 'intercept' you mean 'splice' or some other 'conjoinment', I'd suggest not doing that at all. When I do a headlight relay upgrade, I get power from the spare 'P' terminals on the back of the relay plate. These are commoned on a solid brass 'busbar' to the main power input to the relay plate. This will minimise any voltage-drop, and is safe, tidy, and easily reversible later if needed.