[T3] Attention '71 Type 3 Owners

Sat Nov 4 16:29:02 PDT 2017

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jim Adney" <jadney at vwtype3.org>
To: <type3 at vwtype3.org>
Sent: Saturday, November 04, 2017 9:50 AM
Subject: [T3] Attention '71 Type 3 Owners

> If you own a '71 Type 3, you're probably already aware that there are a
> number of '71 parts which are one year only parts, now unobtainable. For a
> number of years, I've been thinking about how to overcome some of these
> problem parts, and one of them is the ignition switch.
>
> What I've wanted to do is to figure out a way take all the electrical load 
> off
> that switch and install relays to do that job. I thought that I could do 
> this with
> 2 relays: one for the starter solenoid and one for the normal operating 
> loads.
>
> I needed access to my '71 to work out the details for this, but that car 
> has
> been in storage since the 2014 Invasion, since I drove my '69 to the 2016
> Invasion in Arizona. Well, a month or so I managed to get the '71 backed 
> out
> of the garage so I could drive it a bit, burn up the old gas that's in the 
> tank,
> and work on the relay conversion.
>
> I started out thinking that I could mount the relays in the 2 empty 
> sockets in
> the top of the late style fuse box, but I quickly discovered that not only 
> did
> this make the wiring harder, because ALL the wires I needed were over by
> the right side of the steering column, but as I looked into this closer, I
> realized that I needed 3 relays, since, starting in '71, there is an 
> X-contact (X
> for eXtra) in the switch, which goes off in the START position, so the
> headlights, and a few other high current consumers, go off when the 
> starter
> runs.
>
> So, now I have a 3 relay system designed and built. 2 relays live in a 
> bracket
> hidden undr the right side of the steering column and one, the X-relay, 
> fits in
> one of the sockets above the fuse box. I installed the first version of 
> this in
> my '71 a couple days ago and it worked perfectly.
>
> But, in the process of installing it, I discovered that there was a single 
> inline
> fuse, serving only the fan, hidden above the fuse box. WHO KNEW THAT
> WAS THERE? That gave me the idea to alter my relay design slightly and
> put the fan on one of the regular fuse box fuses. This was easy because
> fuse 9 had almost NO load on it. (And yet it comes with a 16 A fuse. Why?)

 The only thing connected to fuse 9 even on a 73 is the key warning buzzer , 
that annoying thing was the first thing I removed . Why it has a 16 amp fuse 
who knows , I wouldn't think the buzzer would draw any thing close to 16amps 
.
 I put an 8 amp in there are power add on gauges and a radio off that . The 
gauges run off a relay I added and the relay coil is powered by fuse 12 
which is the ACC on a 73 which is  an  8 amp. .

>
> In the end, I arranged for the new X-relay to power the lights, the fan, 
> and a
> few other items, using rhe OE fuses for the lights and fuse 7 for the fan 
> and
> other X-relay devices. I had to move the fuel pump to fuse 9.
>
> I now have a kit available to install this modification to any '71 Type 3. 
> I
> emphasize that this is ONLY for '71 Type 3s. This has been designed to
> work with my US market FI '71 Type 3. I don't see any reason why it should
> not work for any market version, but I really can't promise that. The kit
> includes 3 relays, a mounting bracket, all wires with the correct fittings
> already crimped on the ends, and 8 pages (!) of installation instructions.
>
> Contact me if you want this for a car from another market. I'll need more 
> info
> to see if this will work for you.
>
> I could make a version of this for other years, but there's really very 
> little
> point, at least for the 12 V models, because all the other years have 
> ignition
> switches that are cheap and available. Maybe '67s could use something. For
> 6 V cars, something else might be needed, but I don't know if I can get 
> the
> same small relays for 6 V.
>
> It's taken me hours to get the parts list all worked out, and days to get 
> the
> installation instructions written and corrected. I've probably revised the
> instructions 20 times, but I think they are now error-free.
>
> This should be a really tempting modification for any '71 Type 3 owner, 
> but
> there are a couple of downsides. The first is the price: With all the work 
> that
> went into this, I have to sell it for $75. The second is that it's a 
> really hard
> install. It took me 5 hours to do it, but I wasted a LOT of time running 
> back in
> the house to get different sizes/colors/lengths of wire, crimp on 
> different
> connectors, and make notes of the differences I found, so the kits could 
> be
> right. Some of the work is in cramped quarters and frustrating. I had a
> number of tiny cuts on my fingers by the time I was done.
>
> There are also 3 somewhat special tools you will need: a tool to release
> locking female connectors from their plastic housing (a jeweler's 
> screwdriver
> can work here, or I can sell you something that I've made) a tool to 
> loosen
> and retighten the retaining rings around the headlight and 4-way flasher
> switches, and some sort of wire crimping tool. (There is 1 OE wire that 
> you
> will need to cut, strip, and  then crimp on the connector that I supply 
> with the
> kit. That step is optional, but it's easy and it puts the clock on fuse 8, 
> so you
> can remove fuse 8 when you won't be driving the car for a long time, to
> reduce the discharge on the battery.)
>
> If you have time, patience, and the right tools, and are willing to take 
> your
> time and follow my step-by-step instructions, this may be right for you.
>
> In the end, the car ends up working EXACTLY like it did before, except 
> that
> the function of fuses 7 and 9 are swapped, the single inline fuse above 
> the
> fuse box is gone, the clock is now fused, and your ignition switch 
> contacts
> now carry 1/3 A max, each.
>
> Let me know if you are interested. I don't expect to sell many of these 
> kits, so
> I don't have a large stock of the necessary parts. I can easily buy more 
> if
> needed.
>
> thanks for reading,
>
> -- 
> *******************************
> Jim Adney, jadney at vwtype3.org
> Madison, Wisconsin, USA
> *******************************
>
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