[T3] NOS Bosch Reverse Light Kit - Installation Help Needed

[Jim Adney]

On 25 May 2015 at 11:11, Sean Bartnik wrote:

> I picked up one of those NOS Bosch reverse light kits, with the switch
> that mounts on the transaxle's nose cone and the operating lever that
> mounts on the shift rod.  I tried to install this yesterday but I got
> hung up on step 1. 
> 
> To power the switch, you run a wire from the fuse box down under the
> edge of the mat and then through the rear kick panel with the brake
> line into the under-rear-seat area. 

The first thing to do is to take a good look at your tranny nose 
cone. The earliest nose cones were not drilled and tapped for the 
switch. Later, VW started drilling and tapping that place but 
installing a plug there instead of the backup light switch. Starting 
in '67, IIRC, the cars came with the switch and backup lights 
installed.

If you have a plug there, you can unscrew it and install the switch 
in its place. If that spot is blank, you're out of luck.
If you can install a switch there, you can get your power from the + 
terminal of the coil. That's what VW did starting in '67. They also 
installed an inline fuse holder, right near the coil, in case there 
was a problem with the backup light wiring. Getting your power from 
the coil is a LOT less trouble than running it all the way from the 
fuse box.

If there's no plug in the nose cone, I believe VDO made a little 
device that mounts in line with the speedo cable that switches power 
to the backup lights whenever the speedo cable reverses. Those will 
be VERY hard to find, and if you manage to find one, you'll have to 
run power back from the front.

The thing to be aware of, if you're running power from the front, is 
that the body metal there is double, with maybe 4" between plates. 
It's still possible to do, but you have to pry out the grommets at 
both ends, feed the wire thru, and reinstall the grommets. This may 
sound hard, but it's actually even harder than it sounds.

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Jim Adney, jadney at vwtype3.org
Madison, Wisconsin, USA
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