Chasing the Hapy Electrical Gremlins (part 3)

Continuing on our journey through the darkness of the wiring rat's nest.

 

Shouldn't Have Cut That

not quite "before",
dashpod already pulled

I'll just jump right into the interesting part. Well, mostly. I started in the engine compartment and removed the wiring related to the coolant heater first: the relay box, the wires down to the glow plugs, etc. That much was great. Then, I moved on to looking at some of the wiring above, and as the bold-faced line implies, I cut something I would best not have.

 

Reflect back to the last time I clowned around on this wiring, I dug deep into the fuse-box. I started by pulling the fuses for circuits Hap doesn't need. Circuit by circuit, I cut that unnecessary wiring by referencing fuse sockets where the fuses had been pulled. That plan worked great. Lots of extra wiring got removed, and the engine still ran. I still had the sporadic not-limp-mode, and the occasional Hapy-don't-wanna-start issues, but they both seemed improved. Well, this time around, I got into the fusebox and saw a few wires that did not appear to have a partner on the other side of the fuse. So, I figured I just missed them the first time, and cut them. Well, that was wrong. Their "missing partner" was actually a common-line always-hot (circuit 30 in VW-speak) that was kind of hidden from view. Well, I didn't see them anyway. The wires I cut are for powering "engine control" circuits, of course. So, kinda important. Ugh.

Fuse Box Smaller

don't actually need
any of these relays

Once I realized that the wires I cut were critical, I needed a new plan. A while back, I bought a small relay box thing off eBay that has 6 relay slots and 6 fuse sockets. Once it arrived, I looked at how many fuses were in the donor fuse box and how many sockets were in that smaller box and the math did not add up. That was all before I did the clear out I mentioned above. After that, I was down to 7 fuses, and one of them was for the OBDII plug that I don't actually use. So, I think the fuse socket numbers may work. As for the relays, I only need 2 of the donor relays: the infamous 109 (main power) and old 180 (glow plugs). All the other ones can go, which leaves me 4 slots for other things, like the "RUN" and "START" trigger relays I have connecting the ignition from the front to the electrical from the donor. Neat. I didn't mean to change the fuse box and the relay plastic holder thing, but when I cut those two engine control wires the die was cast.

Label, Label, Cut

smarter way to remove
extra wiring

So, into the darkness we go. I started with the more obvious wires, like the thin little wires on the 180 (glow plug) relay. Then, I moved on to the T10 plugs. There are 5 (Blue, White, Black, Orange and Brown) 10-pin plugs in the mix of all that rat-nest. I unplugged them, and started dissecting by labeling either side of the cut, describing what is on the other side, and cutting. This picture on the right here explains the wire coming from the ignition switch position 86s as an example of how I dealt wit the wire-snarl.

While that sounds like quick work, I have moved slowly, researching each wire first, to make sure I don't have another "engine control" mishap. And, I want to do more than just label where it went; I want to know what it does first. This is a lot like a jigsaw puzzle where the more you do, the faster it goes until you eventually have all of the wires you intend to cut labelled and cut apart. I am almost done, which means the next post on wiring should include some building back up.

Diagramming

One last thing I have been doing, is crafting my own wiring diagram. I started by scanned the wiring diagram for the early ALH engine (80-pin ECU) from the Bentley. There are 13 pages. I am examining each circuit across the diagram and editing the image of the page to reflect what my circuitry will look like. I am retaining the original circuit numbering, etc. but adding the number of the fuse that I am using in the new fuse box to the documentation. Perhaps more importantly, I am erasing the wire references to things that I no longer have, like the coolant warming glow-plug stuff. My thinking is that this way someone who knows the original wiring (looking at you, Justin) can understand the diagram just as well as I do. This diagram will replace the diagrams in the 3-ring binder, since the 2 sets in there are both for later ALH models, so they are informative, but not exactly 100% representative. Between the cold and the dark, the diagramming effort helps me feel like I am moving forward while also creating clarity around the work.

My CoViD-19 Plea

I take a 2 mile walk pretty much every day to shake off the cabin fever and to get some exercise. Every day, I see 20-30 people also out taking walks, riding bikes or taking a run as well. That's great except I can count on one hand the number of people I encounter with a mask on at all (even worn wrong). The other day, I counted 3 people out of 28. Seriously. Our tiny state is consistently seeing over 1200 new cases a day, which is alarming when you consider our "summer peak" was 430 cases a day. Please keep your masks on, its not a political statement, it's not a chin-strap and it doesn't work unless it covers your nose and mouth. It's to protect others from you, not the other way around. We don't know if you have the virus or not, and quite frankly, if you're wandering around without a mask, and hanging around with others who don't have masks, then even if you had a test today... you don't know either. Just because you're outside doesn't mean you can run/walk/bike right past other people a-huffin and a-puffin (and sometimes a-coffin) without a mask. We are all tired of this, but that doesn't change anything about the importance of respecting it, and each other --

Bus starter replaced

Brief post today about replacing the starter in the TDI-powered microbus.

Beginning by Not Starting

After getting the radiator replaced, I was unable to take a test drive because I couldn't get Hapy started. I assumed it was the annual ignition wiring issues, but I was wrong. The great unwiring I did two years ago (See Another Tow) actually worked two years later. The true issue was the starter finally failed. The starter that I was using was a gift from Justin. He had a customer who was complaining about noises coming from their starter, even though it worked fine. It kind of ran-on a couple of seconds after releasing the key post-start. While this is an indication of impending failure, it was working fine. Justin replaced it, and offered me the starter for the project microbus. It being free, I obviously accepted it, knowing that the day would come when the starter would become inconsistent and then just not work. Well... the becoming inconsistent didn't happen; it just failed.

Start Out
Removing a starter is not complicated, but I'll cover it anyway. Disconnect the battery cables from the battery first. This should be obvious, but so often we get excited about the job, and forget. Next, unplug the trigger wire that comes from the ignition and plugs into the solenoid with a small black square clip. Pinch-and-pull. Next, remove the bundle of wires which are ring-terminal'd onto the back of the starter. This should be a 10mm nut. With the electrical out of the way, grab the (IIRC) 19mm socket and remove the top bolt. This bolt is longer than the other, and you go after this one first on the bus because it is the one that is harder to get to (you're on your back facing up). Then, remove the lower, smaller bolt from the bottom, keeping a hand on the starter as it loosens. It is heavy, especially lying down underneath, so brace against it falling on your face.

Start In
I took the old starter over to Discount Import Parts (now only on the east-side - don't get me started) and got a rebuilt Bosch from them. Since I had the old starter in hand, I didn't have to pay a core nor drive all the way over there a second time. The install is literally the reverse of the removal: wrestle the starter up into position (solenoid above the starter) and rotate it left and right while pressing the smaller bolt into the lower hole. Once it catches, thread it in with your fingers until it is holding. Then, finger-in the top longer bolt. Once they are both finger tight, tighten with the sockets. Wire up the ring-terminal wires with the 13mm, then plug in the trigger wire.

Once the starter was in, Hapy fired right up. His test drive was pretty great. A charged-air pipe separated from one of the rubber connectors again, so I'll need to solve for keeping that together. Otherwise, I drove to the gas station and filled up with B20. Last tank of fuel: 39mpg. When compared to the 16-19 mpg I was getting with the gasoline engine, 39 is absolutely astounding. I rewarded Hapy with an oil change.

That's it for today. Thanks, as always, for following along-

1... 2... 3... 4 Peaks

Over Summer Solstice, a 3500 person music festival called "Four Peaks" takes place just outside Bend Oregon. Boo and I went to our first this year. Today's post is a review, of sorts. I apologize both for the lateness of this posting as well for the lack of posting the past month. I've had some weird health things going on (bad lethargy) so finding energy to post about things just wasn't happening.

Anemia, Dust and Allergens
Not exactly "Lawyers, Guns and Money", but my trifecta for Four Peaks was somewhat misery-centered. I'd been feeling lethargic, and no amount of testing resulted in any useful information or actions. Basically, I was tired all the time. Any activity, even just walking across the room would spike my heart rate. Adding insult to injury, I was coming off a cold, allergy season was in full swing and Four Peaks was held in the central Oregon desert. As a result, Boo and I spent a lot of time near the
bus.

Four Peaks vibe
We love Four Peaks. The energy was positive and groovy, the people were friendly and the staff were awesome. As I mentioned in the Finding Waldo post earlier, we didn't see a single over-indulged person. The servers in the beer garden were on top of it and the White Bird tent folks must have been too. The times I passed by the White Bird tent, it was empty, so maybe we have the attendees to celebrate. Even though we mostly stayed away from the crown at the stage, we met tons of bus people, though, and we saw more splitties (4), bay-windows (16) and vanagons (literally dozens) than we'd seen at any festival or show up to that point. We were parked next to a '71 westy, for example. Boo and I would take walks around the lot/camping scene and talk to fellow festers, both bus owners and tent-folk. Everyone was just having a great time.

Melvin Seals and the JGB
Boo was awesome. Her patience for my lethargy was greater than my own. I wanted to see music, but it would wear me out just walking to the stage. So, we saved up all of our

energy on the second day for Melvin Seals and the JGB. If you aren't familiar, this group is made up of parts of Jerry Garcia's old band, including Melvin Seals on the keys. In the picture on the web, they show a long-haired guy on bass, but we had someone else playing... and he was fantastic. I hadn't ever thought of "Cats Down Under the Stars" as a funky tune, but the bass line he was laying down made that song boogie. Great stuff. The backup singers took me back to Jerry's old "windshield wiper" backup singers, complete with their synchronized side-to-side stepping while singing. They were great, the crowd loved them, and danced like each song was a set closer. I spent all of my energy for the day, and shuffled back to the bus to rest afterwards.

Poor Man's Whisky
Parked on our other side was a group of 3 families each from one of the 3 nearest states: Oregon, Washington and California. The guys had all gone to college with the front man for Poor Man's Whisky, so they had a special connection to the festival. They were adamant that Boo and I make it to see them, even if we missed the rest of the festival. So, that was our one target for the third day, and we weren't disappointed. While not as groovy as Melvin Seals, they pulled off some great stuff.. like a bluegrass version Pink Floyd's "Time". Having never seen them before, I loved their range, and everything they did, they did well. I'm sure they only get to Oregon for festival season, but if they make it back in the darker months, we'll definitely go.

To and From

Hapy drove great, both there and back. The Central Cascades were some of the steepest and most turn-y roads I'd driven sonce the engine transplant, so it was a great road test. I did have to drop into 3rd a couple of times on the way there. That could have been attributed to all the water, food and ice we were carrying. The drive home included a temperature scare. Driving west on OR20 out of Sisters, there is a long steep grade. Hapy's temperature steadily climbed until we almost hit 200*. We pulled over into an overlook, and set up a lunch picnic while he cooled down. After the picnic, I started testing the cooling fans, and sure enough, one of the fans wasn't spinning when the switch flipped. I'd seen this before, though when I went digging into the archive, I can't find any postings about it.

In 2012, we drove to the Further shows in Troutdale at the McMenamin's. The parking was rutted and bumpy. It was so bumpy that one of the wires for the cooling fans shook loose, so the coolant wasn't getting cooled off. I had to diagnose and fix it on the side of I-84!

Well, this time, I figured that out before we even pulled to a stop, much less after looking at things. The "lot" for Four Peaks is just open meadow, so there are lots of bumps and tire ruts creating quite the chatter as you leave. Of course one of the wires shook free! I identified the bad connection, fixed it and we were on our way.

Did I Stutter?

As I expected from all this daily driving, a new issue would arise.  Today is all about that.

Stutter
On the drive into work on May23 the engine suddenly shut itself off 3 times.  First as I was pulling onto Walker Road off the 217, again on driveway off Jenkins and last in the parking lot while I puttered looking for a spot.  Some quick research showed me that the main power relay (Relay 109) really sucks on these ALH TDI engines.  Apparently, folks buy them in bunches, and keep spares in their glove box just in case these things happen.  So, I ordered a couple from IDParts.com ($10 each plus shipping).  In my classic impatient way, I bought another one at Discount Import Parts (DIP) on the corner of Hall and Scholls Ferry Rd (Progress exit off 217).

Relay 109 Symptoms, but not 109
Thursday night, I tried swapping the relays, but the same effect happened.  Friday night, I tried some additional diagnosis with Boo listening while I tried starting / runing him.  As we talked about possible causes over breakfast this morning, she hit on it: it starts fine, but when you try to just run him, he dies.

Dang, it was me!

solenoid over zebra
striped rear of bus

I drove back to the bus this afternoon.  I grabbed one of the ignition relays that I put in to spook the ignition key action (see Inch by Inch) and headed for Radio Shack.  I got another relay there, but their supply of wire ends has turned to crap, so I hit O'Reilly's for wire ends (I got some heat-shrink too, but forgot electrical tape).  Back to the bus.  I started un-taping the wires from their respective ends and found 2 loose ones.  First, was the juice from the battery headed for the "run" relay.  Second was the connection between the 2 relay send signal wires and the one-way solenoid.  That one-way solenoid sends juice down to 2 of the 3 major spots, so this was a big deal.  Once these were repaired, the bus is road-worthy again.  I intend to return to the bus with the heat-shrink (and a lighter) and really seal up all of those connections.  With all the use the bus has been getting, it is crucial to have the wiring done for keeps.  This serves as a good reminder to myself: fab with the long term in mind.  Don't just do enough to get it to work.   Do it right enough so that it will last a while.  I put it that way because it is easy to over-engineer things for "lasting a lifetime", when you're just going to change your mind about things a few years from now.

Well, there's still daylight left, so I'm gonig to take a celebratory drive down the way to Taco del Mar to celebrate with a burrito.  As always, thanks for following along and more next time...