Bus electrical problem

Hey all,
I have a perplexing problem with my '65 Bus. The electrical system doesn't
work. I checked the battery and it is putting out 12 volts. I get 12 volts to
the fuse box but then when I turn the ignition the voltage drops to next to
nothing. I get this problem mainly if the car has been sitting for a few days.
I tried bypassing the headlight switch and running the wiring from the fuse box
direct to the ignition switch but I still get a major drop in voltage. After a
few seconds with the switch off the voltage is back up to 12 but it still will
not turn the starter. I also tried bypassing the igntion switch by "hot wiring"
the bus but get the same results. Any advice out there??
Thanks,
--Dan E

In article >,
ojunk (Braukuche) wrote:

> I have a perplexing problem with my '65 Bus. The electrical system doesn't
> work. I checked the battery and it is putting out 12 volts. I get 12 volts to
> the fuse box but then when I turn the ignition the voltage drops to next to
> nothing. I get this problem mainly if the car has been sitting for a few
> days.

<snip> Just 'cause a battery (even a "AA" one) shows full voltage, it
doesn't mean that battery is any good. Pull it out and get it tested at
a good shop... I think you'll be told that the battery needs to be
retired.

--
___
|___| '61 - VW
(o\_|_/o) Bug! ALEA -- 35.9 BHP and not a bit more!
_U_____U_

Your battery is dead. A dead battery will almost always read close to 12v
until you put a load on it.

Jim
SR Racing

Braukuche wrote:
>
> Hey all,
> I have a perplexing problem with my '65 Bus. The electrical system doesn't
> work. I checked the battery and it is putting out 12 volts. I get 12 volts to
> the fuse box but then when I turn the ignition the voltage drops to next to
> nothing. I get this problem mainly if the car has been sitting for a few days.
> I tried bypassing the headlight switch and running the wiring from the fuse box
> direct to the ignition switch but I still get a major drop in voltage. After a
> few seconds with the switch off the voltage is back up to 12 but it still will
> not turn the starter. I also tried bypassing the igntion switch by "hot wiring"
> the bus but get the same results. Any advice out there??
> Thanks,
> --Dan E

Shorted battery. Any load makes it short itself, but with no load it
puts out the nominal 12V.
Or maybe it's just low charge. Or low on water/acid.

Jan

Jan Andersson wrote:
>
> Braukuche wrote:
> >
> > Hey all,
> > I have a perplexing problem with my '65 Bus. The electrical system doesn't
> > work. I checked the battery and it is putting out 12 volts. I get 12 volts to
> > the fuse box but then when I turn the ignition the voltage drops to next to
> > nothing. I get this problem mainly if the car has been sitting for a few days.
> > I tried bypassing the headlight switch and running the wiring from the fuse box
> > direct to the ignition switch but I still get a major drop in voltage. After a
> > few seconds with the switch off the voltage is back up to 12 but it still will
> > not turn the starter. I also tried bypassing the igntion switch by "hot wiring"
> > the bus but get the same results. Any advice out there??
> > Thanks,
> > --Dan E
>
> Shorted battery. Any load makes it short itself, but with no load it
> puts out the nominal 12V.
> Or maybe it's just low charge. Or low on water/acid.
>
> Jan

What I meant: try using a known good battery from another vehicle to
eliminate one possibility: the battery itself.

Jan

Turns out it was the positive clamp. I took the battery out to take it to the
FLAPS to have it load tested and when I went to reintall noticed that the clamp
had been drilled out except for the top 1/8 inch. So when it was tightened the
contaqct suirface area was about 1/8 inch which was apparently not enough. I
drilled the rest of the clamp out, tightened it down and wooooom, it started
right up. Own enough of these old things and you discover more and more about
what makes them work or in this case not work.
Thanks all.
--Dan E

>Shorted battery. Any load makes it short itself, but with no load it
>puts out the nominal 12V.
>Or maybe it's just low charge. Or low on water/acid.
>
>Jan