10 replies to this topic

[matts87glsedan]

http://www.ultimates...00&ppuser=18986

this used to be a motorhome, but the roof and walls went rotten on me. I couldnt get rid of it though, so i decided to turn it into a flatdeck work truck. Its a 3ton, with 37,000 miles on it.

I'm actually looking for a wiring diagram for it right now, to hook up the new tail lights. Anyone out there have a manual and want to tell me what the brake/running/signal light wire colors are? damn things arent in stock anywhere here, not even the library. its a 74 vanagon by the way.

[Reveeen]

its a 74 vanagon by the way.

Ahhhhhhhh silly me, here I *thought* a "Vanagon" was a registered trademark of VW.

Look around the steering column under the hood (to the right), there should be a wire loom (a group of wires in a ribbon configuration) heading down to the chassis and towards the back...........this is your tail light wires and fuel gauge wire (and electric fuel pump if equipped), a simple test light should tell you what you need to know.

[matts87glsedan]

ahh dammit, i meant vandura. I used to own a vanagon too, so i always F that up. :-p

yeah, i guess i'll be chasing and testing. I forgot about the fuel guage, so thanks for reminding me about that. it'll be 12v when the key is on? I had one that was only 8.5 when i tested earlier. perhaps thats my fuel guage wire?

otherwise, i should have one wire each for running lights,leftsignal, right signal, and brakes, correct?

thanks - Matt.

[Reveeen]

Probably left and right turn signals/brake, running lights, back-up, the fuel will either be around 8V, or flash, depending on the year, 5 wires in total.

[matts87glsedan]

ok thanks. that'll save me some confusion .

[nipper]

Dont forget some refelctors on the back of that. The shape of that chop (BTW i think its really well done) may catch people extreemly off guard as they come up behind it. You are probably going to need mud flaps or fenders of some kind on the rear wheels.


nipper

[matts87glsedan]

Dont forget some refelctors on the back of that. The shape of that chop (BTW i think its really well done) may catch people extreemly off guard as they come up behind it. You are probably going to need mud flaps or fenders of some kind on the rear wheels.

hey thanks nipper - its kind of a 'love it or hate it' machine, sometimes i dont know what side i'm on :-p . as far as reflectors, i'm going to put a line of reflective tape across the back bumper. i've still got the mudflaps from its days as a motorhome, so those'll go back on when i get the deck built.

right now i'm just trying to find the brake wire. I got everything else pegged, but i've never worked on this brake setup before. There's a vac hose that the pedal activates. this hose goes to a device on the engine, that has a 2 wire connector. the wires are marked HOLD and ENGAGE. these wires run back under the dash and dissapear into the harness.

I may just say screw it and wire my own switch to the pedal.

[nipper]

hey thanks nipper - its kind of a 'love it or hate it' machine, sometimes i dont know what side i'm on :-p . as far as reflectors, i'm going to put a line of reflective tape across the back bumper. i've still got the mudflaps from its days as a motorhome, so those'll go back on when i get the deck built.

right now i'm just trying to find the brake wire. I got everything else pegged, but i've never worked on this brake setup before. There's a vac hose that the pedal activates. this hose goes to a device on the engine, that has a 2 wire connector. the wires are marked HOLD and ENGAGE. these wires run back under the dash and dissapear into the harness.

I may just say screw it and wire my own switch to the pedal.

hrmmm either trailer brakes or cruise control?

On this i do belevie its a single bulbe system. If it is the break light runs into the turn signal. The turn signal switch controls which light blinks and which light is steady.

nipper

[matts87glsedan]

On this i do belevie its a single bulbe system. If it is the break light runs into the turn signal. The turn signal switch controls which light blinks and which light is steady

this explains why i cant trace the brake wire... BECAUSE ITS NOT THERE !

ok upon further inspection it turns out that the vac line is for cruise, and there actually was a pedal switch hiding behind the vac line. sometimes, i am very unobservant.

well, now i should be able to move on to paint... thanks.

[nipper]

this explains why i cant trace the brake wire... BECAUSE ITS NOT THERE !

ok upon further inspection it turns out that the vac line is for cruise, and there actually was a pedal switch hiding behind the vac line. sometimes, i am very unobservant.

well, now i should be able to move on to paint... thanks.

Damn apologize for the bad typing. i am in just such a funk thats where it shows up.

nipper

[matts87glsedan]

http://www.ultimates...00&ppuser=18986

well, its done. i contact cemented some berber carpet to the inside to hide my body work... it looks pretty good. the finish bondo is not that pro, you can see that its not smooth and in some places needs another coat of putty,, but for a work truck i'm satisfied. I ended up painting with the foam roller teck thats been on older gen not too long ago. I didnt have any runs, but it turned out uniformly orange peeled. This is probably because i didnt have my paint quite thin enough, and also didnt bother sanding in between coats. It still took 4 days to get 4 coats on.

overall, from six feet away - looks fine to me.