Re: [T3] Fuse Box Wiring

[Jim Adney <jadney@vwtype3.org>]

Note that if you have a series of separate questions, it is best to separate 
each one with a blank line, so that we don't have to reformat everything to fit 
our answers in.

I'll try to reformat and answer as best I can.

On 25 Jun 2007 at 9:23, Adriel Huntington Rowley wrote:

> Okay, I am a dummy to be so long reinstalling the fuse box.  So, now things 
> are not making since.  I did make notes, but some of it I am wondering if I 
> got wrong.  First off, which way does one feed the wires for the relays?  I 
> have a two prong emergency flasher relay, and three wires.  The relay is not 
> labeled (except Sylvania, made in the U.S.A.), so which prong goes to what, 
> and which one is left without a prong?  I tried the Bentley for help, but 
> some of the wiring does not match how the Squareback was wired.  Could some 
> of the differences be due to it being sold in the German market?  Should I 
> wire it according to the Bentley? 

Your problem is mostly due to the fact that you have an aftermarket (US) 
flasher relay in there. The OE relay has 3 terminals and will only fit in the 
relay socket in one way. In addition, it sounds like your relay wires have been 
removed from the socket, so you will have to figure out where they were 
originally before you can put it all back together correctly.

> The energized side of the fuse box is the 
> row with one of the spades connected to the positive side of the battery, 
> right?  It is also side with the bar connectors (black bars in the diagram)? 

That sounds right, but I can never remember which end of the fuse is the hot 
end, top or bottom. It would be the end which has commoning bars built into the 
fuse block.

> If so, then why does the Bentley show two black wires on the positive side 
> (which in reality one is green and the other black)?  There is only one 
> spade, thus there would be no positive feed for an accessory.  It was wired 
> on the other side, where there are two spades.

The Bentley is not perfect, or perhaps you've got a mid year change in front of 
you. Sometimes it helps to look at the diagram for an adjacent year, because 
sometimes that one is a better "fit."

Usually the hot side will have only a single spade (or a commoning bar) and the 
load side will have one or more spade terminals. VW didn't leave a lot of empty 
terminals for accessories. 

>  Also, what does the diagram 
> mean when it shows to wires running together (i.e. #1 with a gray .5mm wire 
> and a gray 1.5mm wire, #5 blue with white stripe and a white wire, etc.)? 

I don't have the diagram in front of me, but sometimes VW crimped 2 wires into 
a single lug.

> How does one convert metric into imperial gauge?

The metric dimension is in square millimeters. You can do this with a nice wire 
table, but it's really not necessary. If you have to replace wires, just use a 
US (AWG) wire that's sufficient to carry the current.

-- 
Jim Adney
jadney@vwtype3.org
Madison, WI USA

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