# Problems with '81 Convertible



## 66busman (Jan 11, 2008)

So my girlfriend just bought an '81 cabby, and it has quite the list of problems. The good: Runs/drives, very little rust, clear title(in our names now), great top, good tires. Now, here's the problems: Wipers, radiator fan, rear defroster, and air vents don't work, exhaust is cobbled together and very, very loud, oil light randomly blinks every hour or so of driving, and it is very drafty and cold inside the car at highway speeds. So, heres my questions: 
1: There is a large cable in the engine compartment that looks like an amp wire, and runs through a random hole in the firewall to behind the dashboard. I can't tell where it goes, but if I disconnect it, all the lights except the headlights turn off. Is this factory?
2: Wipers don't work, but I wired them up to a switch on the dash to run at the highest speed. Unfortunately, that speed is still really slow. Should I be greasing the joints on the motor? Also, what would cause the wiper switch to randomly fail? Only 6.5 volts come out of it...
3: The car still runs, but the starter recently stopped working, have been bump starting the car. Basically, the car started up with the starter, we drove about 20 miles to go out to eat, and then wouldn't start again. Voltmeter in dash reads over 12 volts all the time, and once running, the car runs just fine. Could this be related to the screwed up wiring, or the starter relay?
4: If the gas gauge and fuel gauge only work intermittently, that means there is a short somewhere, right? They activate and de-activate simultaneaously. Will the cluster from a '90 Golf GL fit in the dash?
5: Are top seals available for this model? If so, I have a feeling autohaus has them, right?
Any help would be appreciated, and sorry for the really long post.


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## quattrofun5 (Aug 17, 2006)

*Re: Problems with '81 Convertible (66busman)*

If you don't have it yet, grab a Bentley manual.
1. No clue without seeing a picture. It's possible it is factory but missing the sheathing or something.
2. It's possible the joints are seizing up causing a lot of friction. Test the circuit to see how much juice is coming through. If the switch was bad, I would think that you would be getting zero out of it but check everything.
3. Give the solonoid a smack when you try to start the car to see if it's sticking. If still nothing, then as above, check the circuit with a continuity tester.
4. Sounds like a lose wire - as it jiggles it makes contact bringing them to life. The cluster from the later car would only fit if you swapped the whole dash - they are physically different.
5. All seals are available. If your local place doesn't have 'em, try Germanautoparts.com


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## mstmiller78 (Aug 10, 2007)

*Re: Problems with '81 Convertible (quattrofun5)*

hi, I own a Cabby too and just wanted to chime in an say the fuel gauge temp light wiring can be fixed. I have the same problem and although it is fine now... usually I just let it go. It is a loose wire problem for sure and if you cant find it let me know and I can post pictures of where I adjust mine. These cars are a pain to get going but they do you will ever wondering why you didn't drive one your whole life.
Oh, and my rear defroster is rusted out so I cleaned the parts that had the electrical housing and got half of it to work.
hope some of this helps.


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## where_2 (Jul 21, 2003)

*Re: Problems with '81 Convertible (66busman)*

First things first. An '81 Cabby is over 25 years old, and A1 electricals were always mediocre at best. When it becomes warm enough that you can stand to work on it, go outside, and pull the driver's seat out of the car. With the seat out of the way, head up above where your clutch foot would be if you were driving. You should find the fuse box and relay panel. Pull every fuse out, one at a time, look them over, see whether they are corroded on the ends, or the little spring things that they seat between are corroded (I'm guessing the 81 cabby used the pointed end german fuses rather than the ATC Blade style). Since you seem to have a Beetle, you probably already know where to buy the little pointed end german fuses. Replace any that look corroded. (I've tried sanding them with 400 or 600 sand paper, I usually break the fuse wire in the process, so replace them if you have spares). While you have your head burried up under the dash, look for sunlight up above the fuse panel. The area at the base of the windshield is known to collect leaves in the drains and when water backs up in that area, it seeks another drain. Sometimes this can be down the hood release cable or the radio antenna cable. 
Ok, now that we know that the fuses are not the power problem, bring out the volt meter. Check your voltage on all the fuses with the ignition turned on. Anyone reading less than 12v?? If someone is reading less than 12v, there may be corrosion on the wiring harness plug on the back of the fuse box OR it may be one of the systems that is fed off the fusable links. (A fusable link is like a giant fuse built into the car's wiring harness. It's a wire that is intended to go up in smoke if something drastically shorts out, rather than taking the entire car up in smoke). Back when I owned my last A1, the fusable links were still passing 12v, but I can imagine now that we're 15 years down the road, that they are potentially iffy on a car over 25 years old. 
You said you were having wiper problems, pull all the relays out of the fuse/relay box (one at a time so you don't get them mixed up). Somewhere in the batch of relays, you'll find one labeled with a VW part number that ends in 531A (if I recall correctly). That would be your wiper relay. Check the contacts for corrosion, pop the plastic cover off the relay, and clean the relay points with some fine sand paper (600 grit). 
Since you're an air cooled guy, you've probably heard of the "How to keep your Volkswagen Alive" book for air cooled vehicles. There's another one that is even more difficult to find these days that was written with the A1 Rabbit/Jetta/Scirocco in mind. It's authored by Richard Sealey and there's some used ones on Amazon for cheap. GET ONE! Bentley is good, but Bentley and "Poor Richard's Rabbit Book" (a common mistaken title for the book) are an unbeatable pair of books to have. 
Ok, you say the Radiator Fan has problems. 9 times out of 10, that will be related to the thermal switch that is on the driver's side of the radiator, and 1" below the corner of the battery. Battery acid spills on the switch, corrodes the connectors, next thing you know it stops working. If you look carefully at the battery, it may have a little fitting like a motorcycle battery where you could connect a hose. Get some cheap plastic hose and route the wayward battery acid past your switch. 
You say the air vents don't work? Is this like my '80 Scirocco_S where the side vents nearest the doors ALWAYS blow cold air, no matter what? Or, do you have no air movement from any air vent at any setting on the dash switch? _Need more input before I explain how to tackle that. _
On to the starter: Do you get a click, or NOTHING when you try to start it with the key. If you get a click, then the beating the solenoid with the wrench should work. You'll want to crawl under the car and remove the starter to clean it up some day if the wrench trick works. If you get no click at all, then your ignition switch may be failing. The Rabbit book above explains how to test that with a jumper wire, I believe. 
When you say the gas gauge and the fuel gauge work intermittently, did you mean to say the Gas Gauge and the Temp Gauge? Seems to me that Rabbits had a gas and temp gauge in the same vicinity. I don't recall whether having a faulty voltage regulator on the back of the cluster will just cause those two gauges to drop out, or whether it takes the Tach along with it? Grab a replacement voltage regulator next time you're at the junkyard. It's the little electronic component thing slightly smaller than a postage stamp with three legs, and a little flat screw holding it on. Remove the screw, and the three legs should pull right out of the flexible circuit board. 
Oil light: The oil light is really just a light bulb with a pressure switch on the grounding end of the circuit. If you pop the hood, the pressure switch is either on the battery end of the head, or on the top of the oil filter flange which is straight down between #3 and #4 cylinders (#4 is closest to the distributor). The pressure switch looks like a nut with a wire sticking out of it. If by chance you have a car with an oil pressure gauge in the floor mounted console, then the sender is definitely on the battery end of the head, and has 2 wires coming off it. 
If you did get the floor mounted console with 3 gauges in it and one of those is an analog clock, Consider upgrading to an oil pressure gauge when you find one in the junkyard. (Audi 4000/5000 make good donors, it will have units of 0-5 or 0-10 BAR where 1 bar = 14.7psi).


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## 66busman (Jan 11, 2008)

*Re: Problems with '81 Convertible (where_2)*

Thanks for all the replies, this thread deserves an update.
1. The big wire I found was a previous owners attempt at fixing the lights. It goes to the headlight switch and emergency flasher switch. I'll be trying to eliminate it, because it's really hack and seems prone to fail. 
2. The wipers definitely need grease, but I've been saving that for when I get the switch working right.
3. Starter problem was one I've never seen. I took a look at the solenoid, and a large chunk of it had broken off, along with the power wire from the battery. A new solenoid was $120, and a rebuilt starter was $70, so I just put a rebuilt starter in it, and it starts just fine.
4. Still trying to fix the gauges, and yes, I meant fuel and temp. The tach still works, BTW. I tried wiggling the plug at the bottom of the cluster, but it didn't seem to help. The gauges still work intermittently, so any input on that would be cool.
5. Car doesn't leak as bad as I thought, seals aren't needed.
where_2: Thanks for all the tips! It's finally getting above 20 outside, so I've been tinkering and trying to get things to work. I have the Muir idiot book, and I recall seeing the rabbit one before, I'll definitely be picking one up, along with the bently(as soon as I can afford it).
Radiator fan-10-4, I'll be checking the connectors as soon as possible. 
Yes, the air vents are the kind where cold air always comes out the side vents. I know that the problem is some kind of vacuum leak or something, because the fan works(only on the highest setting, need a new switch). If pull out the center vents and push the flap with my hand, I can feel air blowing, but the flap won't budge by itself.
I'll have to check the voltage regulator, would one from a mk2 work? I've got a spare cluster I could pull that off of.
Yes, my car has those gauges. I will look into that, the gauge seems really iffy in it's readings, at best.
Thanks for all you help, this gives me a lot more to work with. The car is SOOO much fun to drive, I love the feeling of manual steering and a 5 speed transmission.
Pictures:
6 cables coming off positive on battery
















Turn signal relay, and the home-made wiring that makes it work:








The console gauges: turned on and off by dangling toggle switch.
















And the car, as she sat 2 weeks ago.


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## where_2 (Jul 21, 2003)

*Re: Problems with '81 Convertible (66busman)*

I would be completely amazed if you managed to find anything that allowed you to get WARM air out of the side vents nearest the doors. That bugged me continuously when I had the Scirocco_S and everyone said it was normal, or a VW Feature. They played the "feature" by saying that it allowed you to blast cool air at your face while your feet were toasty warm to keep you alert while you drive. (kept me alert and ticked off is what it did!)
The wiring you've got there is YIKES, but you should be able to work that back into shape. Any thoughts yet how similar that German '81 Convertible wiring will be to an '80 Scirocco? I think my collection of manuals still includes some useful stuff upstairs that I could use as a resource. Won't be perfect, but should be close enough to get you started. 
Good choice on the starter. When the back falls off the solenoid, it's time for a refurb/rebuilt.








On the voltage reg, I think it should work. You can actually compare the two before you hook it up by using an online electronics cross reference. There should be a part # on the regulator. I found one here, I'll see if I can look it up based on what it says on it: "ITT TCA 700Y Germany". 10V and FWIW, I found this: http://forums.vwvortex.com/zer...78887
When the console mount gauges are iffy in their readings, it's usually a ground problem. The A1's are real sensitive to having decent grounds on everything too. So, go around and clean up all the places where ground wires connect to things. Start under the hood, and do the ground strap to the transmission mount under the battery. It won't hurt to toss a spare ground wire between the engine block and the car chassis somewhere. Up under the dash above the fuse/relay panel you'll find more than a dozen grounds terminated to the framework for the steering column in the dash. Clean those up too. 
As for that positive battery terminal with 8 red wires leaving it. That really should be no more than 3, if I remember correctly. The BIG red one will go to the starter solenoid. A handful of smaller ones will lead to the fuse/relay panel. Where are the rest of those going besides to the hazard light relay and your headlight switch??


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## 66busman (Jan 11, 2008)

*Re: Problems with '81 Convertible (where_2)*

http://forums.vwvortex.com/zer...70102
Check here for updates, if you are interested.


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## alpinweiss (Aug 10, 2007)

*Re: Problems with '81 Convertible (66busman)*

I will repost my original post here, since it applies to many Mark 1 owners.
I haven't seen it mentioned in this thread, but the fusebox (relay panel) was a weak spot on the A1 chassis cars. The circuits that often burned up were air conditioning, fuel injection, radiator fan, lights, etc.
With that many electrical issues on your car, I would consider the fuse panel highly suspect. Take it out and look for burned circuits. It is above your clutch pedal. You may want to replace it. The fuse panel is still available last time I checked, both dealer and aftermarket.


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