VW Westfalia Bus Tune-up and Headlight Upgrade
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- Опубликовано: 2 окт 2024
- In this weeks video, I upgrade the headlights and do a tune up on a 1976 VW Westfalia bus. I had a lot to do but the weather wasn't cooperating so I had to work fast. I was really hoping to show all the work performed in detail but had to do what I could.
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Keywords: VW Volkswagen bus campmobile bay window transporter van vanagon westfalia yellow tune up points condenser wires headlights headlight upgrade relays spark plugs replacement battery low amps
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Was going to build a head light harness,for my '86 944, as per your video,found on Amazon a plug and play harness for less than $40.00. It was a little longer than needed but worked just find. Had a hard time finding all the parts needed to build my own,your video was very help full never the less,thanks.
Awesome! That's a great deal. I may keep that in mind when I'm doing a budget build. Thanks!
Noice! Yes on the Pertronix, I love mine, no issues on my 1979 Westy for over 6 years. Also yes on the engine seal. I have a video on my VW channel if you want to see how I replaced mine. Great job 👍
Cool, have a Bus myself, too. That baby needs some tlc. First, foam seal in engine compartment!!! Treat and stop that rust. Really need to upgrade to a Pertronix.
Awesome! Yeah, being in the salty Bay area then the Pacific North West was not kind to her. I have removed most of the worst rust but it really needs to be resprayed, but that's up to the owners now. We had a green Westy growing up and it was in perfect shape but my dad sold it...
I had a 12v auto battery fail once that was putting out 16. 4 volts and around 50 cold cranking amps.
Usually, my batteries fail with low voltage so this was the first time seeing one with good voltage fail, but its good to know that it is a common issue. When I was looking around on forums it seems like everyone was saying if the voltage is good then it should start but it might be the starter... but I kinda figured that there wasn't any way it was the starter and had to be the amps.
Great video! I know you reviewed the parts list for the headlight upgrade - but could you post the parts list? Much appreciated
Sure. I’ll try to put a parts list together soon.
Get yourself a Schumacher BT-100. $35 and very effective way to check CCA. It will smoke the first couple of times.
I may have to do that! I usually run into issues where the battery has low voltage which is a clear sign something is wrong but this is was the first time ever seeing a battery with good voltage and low amps. I didn't think it was possible, but you learn something new everyday! When I tried to look it up everyone was just saying that it was probably something else so I don't suppose many people have seen this either. Would be nice to have a tool that would tell me the amps! Thanks!
Whats your theory running a separate circuit system for the head lights?
The headlight wiring from the factory was run all the way from the battery in the rear, then through the switch using very small gauge wiring. While this was a very common design years ago its now an extremely outdated design that is no longer used in modern cars since the lights don't get enough power. Of course, over time corrosion builds up causing resistance, dimming the lights even more. Adding brighter bulbs to correct the issue will only cause more resistance which can result in an electrical fire. These lights were only getting around 11 volts instead of the 14 volts necessary for the lights to be as bright as they should. So they were 30% dimmer and you couldn't see anything at all with them. Not to mention low voltage can reduce the life expectancy of the bulb. So by replacing the harness with one with relays and larger gauge wire it allows higher voltage to reach the bulbs. Which not only significantly increases the light output but also increases the bulbs life expectancy. I hope that helps!
Battery is done. Mine all go bad like that. Rarely do they last 5 years either.
I get lucky I guess. The last battery that I replaced lasted nearly 9 years and the only reason it died was because the alternator went bad and caused a parasitic draw which killed it. Once they go dead and they're over 5 years old I just replace them, but I usually have batteries last much longer than that. If I leave the car sitting for a while I'll put a battery maintainer on there to keep them alive.
Nice video. I just recently upgraded to the Hella H4s on my 87 944 Turbo. They were plug and play so wondering why you ran new wiring? Did you really think it was necessary?
Yep, the problem is that older cars have long wiring that often runs from the battery to the fuse box, headlight switch, dimer switch, then all the way back to the headlights themselves. By the time it goes through all that you've lost a lot of power which isn't ideal, but was a cheap solution. Before I upgraded the harness in my car I was getting 11.5 volts so that means they were only about 70% as bright as they should be. After adding the harness I was getting the correct 13.5 volts and the lights were significantly brighter, so I don't bother installing these without a harness anymore. By the 1990's all cars came from the factory with this type of harness and I feel its a must in older cars... I hope that helps!
edredas good point on the voltage drop. I was more concerned with burning up wiring that may be too small.
I have heard that was an issue since as wiring ages it corrodes and there's more resistance. This can generate a lot of heat which can be compounded when higher wattage bulbs are used, so it is another thing to consider... but for the most part the European cars came with these H4 lights from the factory so I don't think the smaller gauge wire that will be a significant issue unless you are running lights over 60 watts. So while I don't think anyone will run into in any issues using the 55/60 watt bulbs that come with the kit and the stock wiring, I mostly do this to make sure that they are as bright as they should be. Not only for safety but because lower voltage can also significantly reduce the life expectancy of the bulb...
Exhaust sounds strange, like timing is off or valves or something is off kilter.
Yeah I noticed that too. I found that the idle was set too low so I had to go in and adjust that the next day which really improved it. If I ever get the change I need to check it with my timing light. The engine was supposedly build by a reputable VW shop but when I replaced the fuel lines they had just used vacuum hoses so there's no telling what else I'll find when I really dig in there.
I don’t want to go to bed 🛏 I was