wireing troubles.

[buggin2]

Hey I have a 1981 diesel vw pickup and it has the usual winshield leak on the fuze block but it was a nonrunner when I bought it and I have found the wireing has been hacked, does anyone know where to find a new replacement harness ? Or are there upgrades or other options I should be aware of ? Any feedback is appreciated !

[Fatmobile]

Ya know, if your heater fan and rad fan fuse spaces aren't burnt you should keep your fuse box.
Not much that can go wrong with a post-80 fuse box.

Upgrades? yes there are a few, mostly added relays.
Headlight relays will keep the switch from melting and give you better lighting.

No reason to run the rad fan relay through the firewall,
Power to it, from the thermo switch and then back out to the fan?
MK2s put the rad fan relay right on the rad fan shroud, grab one and hook it up to the battery,
use one of the wires going through the firewall to hook up a manual rad fan switch.

Spare relay spot on the box?
Put a reverse light relay in the empty rad fan spot to keep the reverse switch from burning up.

...and of course look at the glow plug wiring upgrade sticky.

[buggin2]

Ok I like the fan relay in the engine bay upgrade, but my wireing has been cut and spliced so much I dont know what goes where, not cut by me, by the way There are melted wires under the dash and the glowplug light stays on all the time, I bought a brand new glow plug relay, $78.00 ouch ! Didnt fix anything, I have a ford starter relay on the fender with horn button on dash but would like it to be more user freindly, like so my wife or freinds could drive it without special training, horn dosent work, but relay clicks under dash, and horn works with direct battery power, so my point is the wire harness is a mess, I think it would be easier to buy a good one than start on mine.

P.S. where to find the end the taillight bulb twists into ? Mine broke in half, wierd But I need a new one.

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I doubt you'll find a new harness, but there are plenty of diesel pickups and rabbits that are rusted away and being parted out. That's where I would be looking for one.
....actually just noticed there is a guy parting out an 81 rabbit in the for sale section.

[Fatmobile]

If you want to replace the wires that are messed up and work your way through the harness I can help you through it.
I just got done upgrading an '80 Rabbit to an '81 wiring harness.
I went through all my wiring buckets and have it all sorted out.
I don't have a good fuse box without a burnt heater fan fuse spot but I have everything else you would need.

Yeah, the tail light bulb holders are exposed to alot of sunlight,.. and become brittle.

[buggin2]

Ok thanks, I have to finish the 84 chevy 6.2 diesel project first, then I have a truck to drive while I tackle this project.

[supersisu]

Last summer I scrapped my 81 Rabbit 5-Speed that tangled with a Ford Explorer. I pulled everything I could off of it, including the wiring harness. It's been awhile since I took it apart, I know that I had all the electrics working before the smashup. I think I managed to pull the front harness complete (without cutting), decent fusebox on it. It's got some weird stuff going on regarding the radio connection, previous owner sliced some fuses in for some reason. Let me know if you might want it, I can take a close look and it and send photos. I'd take $75.

I think I also have some of the rear harness, but I would have to check on it.

I also rewired a 1980 Pickup using a later harness; the wiring had been pretty much fried due to stupid radio installation. I found a used harness on ebay, they are rare but out there. I think I paid $150. Most of the wires are the same colors, they just go to different fusebox connectors. Post 1980 are much much better. I basically laid out the new harness over the remains of the old one and cut and spliced the wires one by one. Took awhile and turned my brain into a Volkswagen wiring diagram, but it now works just fine.

Erik

[buggin2]

Thanks, I need to check out my newly aquired truck for good harness, after I finish my gm project, so it will be awhile so don't save for me. But thanks I'll keep you in mind when I get there. Buggin2.