[T3] Checking Electrical Connections/Cleaning Terminals

chazpix @dslextreme.com chazpix at dslextreme.com
Sun May 15 16:21:59 PDT 2011


Hi Folks
Felt compelled to chime in after reading the last few posts.
Adriel PLEASE before you do any work under the dash, remove a Battery lead!!
(either ground or +)
I almost burnt up a Porsche 914 (my Dad's) years ago thinking I could do
some quick repair of a circuit & not remove the power from the car first.
Dumb...Talk about going into panic mode. I've never moved so fast in my
life..don't want it to happen to a fellow T3 lover!
.
A shorted lead will ignite (& take the rest of the harness with it) almost
instantly. Not fun at all. I speak with experience.
Get one of those continuity testers with a small AA battery & light bulb
built in to do your checking. They're great. And safe. For sure check your
grounds 1st thing.

Interesting posts on ZDDP...Anyone know if Kendall GT-1 40W has it in it?
Reason I ask is the Folks at VW Paradise who did my 1776 recommended
straight Kendall 40 weight.
This was a few years ago, but they sweared by it. I was concerned about the
heavy viscosity, but insisted that was their oil of choice for they're
rebuilt bigger engines. (and they've enjoyed a great reputation here in San
Marcos for years and years) Still running it in the Square to this day with
no wear issues. Just curious.

Jim, apologies for not following up with you on the Distributor question
(months ago)
Bottom line, which would be the most desirable Distributor for a dual-carbed
(34 ICT Weber) 1776, with a mild cam (110) engine, in your opinion?
(running .009 w/ the Pertronix) (love the pointless igniton, but dizzy seems
to be having issues others have wrote about in the past-stumble,etc)

And I have a way to clean those electrical contacts easily Gang. Not
mechanically though.
Jim's correct here. Please Folks don't use steel wool! Not good. The last
thing you want under the dash is bits and pieces of electrically conductive
material looking (lurking?)  to cause serious trouble somewhere (shorting
vital connections!) somehow... sometime...at the worst possible moment
(remember steel wool IS fine, uninsulated, steel wires ;)

Ok everyone here it is. My cherished Secret. I'm giving it to you guys
gratis, 'cause I LOVE this forum!
(sorry it's bit long, so grab an adult beverage & enjoy ;)

Go to Home Depot. (or local hardware store/Home Improvement Center) ( I know
for sure most Home Depot's carry it-call them anyway) and find (that's the
hard part-not all HIC's stock it)
"Klean Strip" (name brand) "Phosphoric Strip & Etch". (has a bright yellow
label on white plastic bottle) The color of the solution is a light green. $
17.99 a gallon IIRC.
Pick up a pair of heavy-duty rubber gloves too. And a small natural-fiber
paint brush. And a plastic container. And a pair of goggles.

Yes, it's a moderate concentration of Phosphoric Acid and emulsifying agents
(soapy) (otherwise sometimes touted as Driveway cleaner as well)
and sounds intimidating, but it's not.
BUT PLEASE you guys I don't want to be responsible for any accidents, so be
safe with this solution if you try it. ALWAYS wear the gloves and eye
protection.
Now, it's not nearly strong enough to melt your fingers off, so don't panic
if a drop or two gets on your skin. Just rinse it off with water.
Keep a hose nearby. Good rule is, if in doubt, rinse it off. Keep it away
from the little ones and pets.
Without hesitation, this is absolutely the best method for cleaning metals
(and other stuff) I've used in my restorations.You will be amazed at what it
can do.

Most of the time I mix it 1:1 with water. (one part Klean Strip, one part
water) Pour the H20  into your container 1st, then add the acid. (not the
other way around)
The size of the vessel depends on how big of a part/piece  you want to
clean. For the electrical, use a shot-glass sized cup with maybe 1/2 oz of
liquid or so.
(if you're under the dash, throw some old towels on your seats/carpet/etc,
to keep any little flicked droplets from getting on stuff) (Don't forget Eye
protection!)
Each wire (or a couple at a time) terminal can be bathed in this solution,
in the little cup, for 10-20 mins or so. Don't worry, it won't adversly
affect the insulation on the wires.
 Stubborn areas can be scrubbed with  a toothbrush or detail brush while
pickling-(the technical name for this).

Rinse everything well with plain water. (Wrap the wires in paper towels or
rags while rinsing works well)
(I like to use an old 409 spray bottle with just plain water as you can
control the spray from a stream to a mist depending on the piece being
cleaned)

Dry completely. (compressed air is nice) You're finished. Nothing but
bright, yellow, clean brass. No residual anything to cause issues.The
terminal will look like it was just stamped. You guys won't believe how nice
brass connectors can come back to life (no matter how rotten they look) both
functionally and cosmetically using this simple method (they can also be
zinc plated after this cleaning to match OEM antique auto factory
look/specs)
The beauty of cleaning with this particular acid is that it will clean those
normally inaccessable areas completely. Down to the bare substrate metal.
Free of oils as well.

So now, take a second close look at the wire(s) (multiple strands)  coming
out of the terminal-(because they will all be clean too) are they loose?
need recrimping? A few strands poking out?The acid will have dissolved any
crusty oxidation in and around each strand of wire. So it may have been
tight before (dirty)-and now it's loose-(clean) hmmmm...
If in doubt at all, now's the time to solder that puppy. Make sure it's both
mechanically AND electrically tight & conductive. Remove the wire from the
terminal (carefully) & cut & strip off 1/4 inch or so if need be. Try not to
damage the connector if possible. Like I mentioned, they're brass. We really
DON'T want to use ANY newer-type connectors at all. They're not made from
brass anymore! Notice the difference between one of our originals , and a
Radio Shack replacement- ours are stiff and solid. RS's are soft and weak
and thin. (made from soft copper/tin mix which is NOT the same as our
stamped brass ones in any way, shape, matter, or form) (I have a ton of OEM
VW connectors if you guys ever need them BTW)

Anyways you might want to add a dab of light grease after it's connected
where it's supposed to be. Or if you're so inclined, electrical terminal
sealer spray is awesome.
It's a Helluva lot of work, but done once, done right, you'll never, have to
ever, rework your electrical system. Guaranteed.

Also this process is correct for steel parts. It will (slowly) dissolve the
oxidation (rust) from steel or cast iron (and also the anodizing from
Aluminum) all the way down to the various base metals on a molecular level.
(Clinically clean)
Technically it's the most efficient way to strip oxidation (Pickling) Works
in lap joints and between spot welds, hidden crevices, etc. where
sandblasting or any other stripping method fails to ever address those
areas. Really the best way to strip IMHO.

And you should see what it does for tile & chrome :)

That's my 2 cts for a rainy Sunday.


Cheers All!
Chuck Salter

'66 Square
'71 914
'50 Stude Champ
'62 Impala SS


On Sat, May 14, 2011 at 1:46 PM, <
type3-vwtype3.org-request at lists.vwtype3.org> wrote:

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> Today's Topics:
>
>   1. Re: Lack of high beam and turn signals (Jim Adney)
>   2. ZDDP...again (Frank Meek)
>   3. Re: ZDDP...again (sploogemeister)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Sat, 14 May 2011 12:01:12 -0500
> From: "Jim Adney" <jadney at vwtype3.org>
> To: type3 at vwtype3.org
> Subject: Re: [T3] Lack of high beam and turn signals
> Message-ID: <4DCE6F08.28140.124537F at jadney.vwtype3.org>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
>
> On 13 May 2011 at 18:53, Adriel Rowley wrote:
>
> > Swapped the turn signal switch and it lights the high beam light all
> > the time.  How do I correct this?  Other than that, does activate the
> > relay but too bright to be sure the filiment is energized.
>
> I get the impression that you're trying to randomly do things that
> you think might fix the problem. This approach appears to be causing
> additional problems.
>
> Instead, use a voltmeter to trace the current path. Concentrate on
> exactly ONE problem at a time. Look at your '71 wiring diagram and
> follow the voltage from the source to the load. Verify that you have
> voltage at each step along the way. Remember that your headlight
> current flows thru the ignition switch, the fuse box, the headlight
> switch and the headlight relay. When you find the spot where the
> voltage no longer shows up, then you have to figure out why.
>
> Note that the headlight voltage does NOT flow thru the TS switch. The
> TS switch only controls the hi/lo relay. No matter what's happening
> in the TS switch, the hi/lo relay should always be in one state or
> the other (hi or lo.)
>
>
> --
> *******************************
> Jim Adney, jadney at vwtype3.org
> Madison, Wisconsin, USA
> *******************************
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 2
> Date: Sat, 14 May 2011 11:32:03 -0600
> From: Frank Meek <ftalker at gmail.com>
> To: type3 at vwtype3.org
> Subject: [T3] ZDDP...again
> Message-ID: <BANLkTim=eAw5cDJuyN+rri5W9ZdBx4OY0A at mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
>
> Hi there
> You could pay 10.00 or 29.95 for ZDDP...or you could simply pay 3.50 and
> put
> in STP Red, (one per change),  which has enough...or, for a few bucks more
> per quart, you could use Swepco or Brad Penn oils.  They have plenty...
> Hope this helps.
> Best Regards,
> FE Meek
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> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 3
> Date: Sat, 14 May 2011 10:42:49 -0700 (PDT)
> From: sploogemeister <sploogemeister at sbcglobal.net>
> To: type3 at vwtype3.org
> Subject: Re: [T3] ZDDP...again
> Message-ID: <600208.59304.qm at web83712.mail.sp1.yahoo.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
>
> Or you could use Valvoline Racing Oil (VR1) and
> get it all in one package.
>
> --- On Sat, 5/14/11, Frank Meek <ftalker at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > From: Frank Meek <ftalker at gmail.com>
> > Subject: [T3] ZDDP...again
> > To: type3 at vwtype3.org
> > Date: Saturday, May 14, 2011, 5:32 PM
> > Hi there
> > You could pay 10.00 or 29.95 for ZDDP...or you could simply
> > pay 3.50 and put
> > in STP Red, (one per change),? which has enough...or,
> > for a few bucks more
> > per quart, you could use Swepco or Brad Penn oils.?
> > They have plenty...
> > Hope this helps.
> > Best Regards,
> > FE Meek
> > -------------- next part --------------
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> > http://lists.vwtype3.org/listinfo.cgi/type3-vwtype3.org
> > Contact gregm at vwtype3.org
> > if you need help with the list.
> >
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>
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>
> _______________________________________________
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> End of type3-vwtype3.org Digest, Vol 8, Issue 18
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