Unable to start
 

bug was fine till i got a guy to weld in a new heater channel on the OS / passenger side and put new seats in it....... :angry:

now can't start bug at all - ignition (red) light comes on, oil pressure light doesn't show at all... there isn't a starter solanoid click or anything. :mad:

any suggestions :eekno:

Sounds like the ground to the battery was not disconnected while welding :tsk:. Check voltage on battery. Then go from there...

Doesn't the wiring loom travel down the A pillar and then along the heater channel flange to the rear/ It does on our RHD 1303. It may be that the welder moved the lom out of the sill area but melted the wiring in the door post. Its worth a check. I bet he would have ensured that the horizontal part of the loom was far enough away from any heat - wouldn't he?

Clive

Wiring Loom down the A pillar is fine.
Started fault finding, had to re-wire from battery to the voltage regulator, all checked out fine all the way to the ignition switch.... Which looks like it's burnt and worn out. Have ordered a new one, will continue with fault finding once that arrives and I've fitted it...

strange... I know i've done welding on my cars before without disconnecting the battery, my 68 bug still has the same battery from when i got it going on 7 years. It does seem that he burned or cut some wires, I mean all you need to turn the starter is a hot from the battery to starter, and a hot from the ignition switch to the starter and grounds of course.

oh and if your oil light doesn't come on that tells me that the wire got cut or something. it runs from the sender to the light, nothing else really to keep it from working

cheers for the replys.

after a bit of fault finding with my multi-meter, eventually found that it was the ignition switch.
looked like it had shorted out, or it was just old age etc...

Anyway back running now.

Not disconnecting the ground is ASKING for trouble. It may not happen every time, but theres that one ;) Since the stock VW wiring routes all power for starter thru the switch, it usually burns up first.