All Work and No Play....

... makes Jack a dull boy. I've been working too much at a desk and not enough on the bus. Still, there's been some headway. First, I'll complain about the too-much-desk bit, and then go through the electrical progress. The next few posts probably won't have much in terms of photogenic moments. I mean what's so interesting about some things that are plugged in? Once we get to tying the harnesses into the stock wiring things will get interesting, but photogenic? We'll see.

Workin' in a Coal Mine...
In the work economy, I should be glad for any hours I get. I'm a contractor, so if I don't work, I don't get paid. So, more hours means more money, of course, but your body, your mind and your family can only take so much. I remember the early internet start-up days when fellow IT folks would boast about their hours, and it would really enter the ridiculous after a while. Working a 40 hour week is plenty if you have a family, or any kind of life outside of what you do for a living. Take 10 hours away from that other life, and it is a significant impact. Figure that's more than another workday to your week. I remember some boasters saying they worked "80 hours" - not possible, really, (unless you're looking for a divorce or an early grave) but the point I'm getting at is I've worked over 50 hours a week for the month of April, and some of March. I'm getting worn down. I worked a day-shift on Friday as well as a graveyard shift that night, and then a day shift on Saturday. As I write this, I'm working a swing-shift on a Sunday, and I expect to work a full week of day-shifts minimum next week. There are rumblings about going all night tonight. I hope it doesn't come to that. I'm grateful for the work, and the team I work on is dedicated to the task, but there are limits.

Marinara on the side
With help from AndyBees from the TDIClub, I have been able to start working in-earnest on the electrical stuff. He sent me the output of his work on his electrical efforts while installing a 2002 Jetta TDI into his vanagon. He also supplied copies of the 1998 NewBeetle wiring diagrams for my engine. In my few idle moments, I have been pouring over those diagrams.

This morning I attacked the 2 main engine-compartment harnesses. Recall last November I put toe-tags on every plug that I could identify through the ETKA. With those toe-tags and the wiring diagram, I was able to connect most of the remaining plugs. I have a few the still need homes, but I feel like that bulk of the engine compartment harnesses are wired in. The main harness, though, has a few plugs on it that need to thread into the engine compartment. I will look into that soon.

Generating Juice
Early last week, I ordered a few things to help get the generator working with the battery and the battery working with the harnesses. First, there's a belt. I don't have the power steering unit (1972 bus, remember?) nor do I have the air conditioner (again, 1972 bus), so my serpentine belt doesn't need to be very serpentine. Simply, it needs to wrap the main pulley on the crankshaft and run around the generator pulley, under the tensioner pulley and back to the crankshaft pulley. Simple. With an extension cord, I measured the length of the trip and then ordered 2 belts that were close. The winner was GoodYear (4060295) - 29.5" effective length. Buy one here. The tensioner pulley is eased with a 5/8" cresent wrench on the exposed nut, and the belt is popped on. Easy-peasy. I was able to get the belt on while waiting for the mac-n-cheese water to boil (making kids lunch).

The other belt I bought will be returned / exchanged for another of the same size for the parts bin. I also bought a battery fuse-block on eBay. (the picture from the eBay listing is above) This is a critical bit that I didn't get from the donor car. It should arrive this week, so integrating that fuse block into the electrical will come up pretty soon. With it will arrive the need to get a primary battery installed. When we sold my wife's old '85 300TD, I kept one of the batteries we had for it. The battery holds a charge and used to run (and start) an old diesel, so I figure it has the horses to start the TDI. I popped it onto the HarborFreight charger so it's topped off.

Last, I bought a battery isolator online. The Westfalia accessory battery circuit relies on the separate voltage regulator to trigger juice rolling to the accessory battery. There's a picture of it (albeit small) up above to the right. The newer TDI generator has a built-in regulator, so a newer isolator is in order. I'll verify this with the installation instruction that will come with the unit, but, in theory, this box will live between both batteries as well as the generator so the generator powers the primary battery first, then the accessory battery and neither battery can discharge the other. Should be pretty straightforward once its in-place. In the interests of full disclosure, its a Stinger S12023 120-Amp 4 Post Design High Current Isolator. Buy one here.

That's it for today. Once the isolator arrives, I'll be focused on getting the primary electrical running. This means getting the primary battery installed, running the primary ground and B+ thick cables, installing the isolator, wiring up the starter, the generator, solving the clutch pedal switch, etc. It may sound like a lot, but I should have all of it resolved in a few hours time.

Thanks for following along, and thanks for all the comments. It really does help keep me honest knowing there are all of your watching and waiting.

pictures:
top - fuse block from eBay lsiting
middle - original 1972 voltage regulator. Need one? I have an extra :)
bottom - new battery isolator