Zen, I can not belive you of all people would use a reg. or anything electrical from Auto-Zone for a VW. I can`t count the number of good gen. that were fried on the count of those reg.
I know, I know. If anyone ever ask, I always tell them to buy a Bosch regulator . . . but seems like every time I need one, I need it NOW . . . and autozone is right around the corner and their $19 regulator will get me by for a few days until I can get a Bosch. When I bolt it on everything is fine . . . so I don't think anything else about it UNTIL a couple of months later when that one craps out on me at the worst possible time . . . I gotta get it going right now . . . AutoZone is right around the corner and their $19 regulator will get me by until I can pick up a Bosch somewhere . . . but everything is working fine for now so I forget about it again until . . .
It's kind'a like the Yogi Berra quote I have in my signature line. "In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice there is." Some theories just don't hold up in practice.
Take for instance, my theory on gas. My theory is that you must have gas to run the engine. Therefore, if the engine is running you have gas. If you have gas, you don't "need" gas. In theory that's true. In practice, when you "need" gas, you can't drive to the pump to get it . . . but then with a little practice you can, from time to time, coast to the pump when you "need" gas. But that's another story. Back to the electrical issue . . .
I've replaced the battery to frame ground strap recently. I've cleaned and tightened the connectors on the frame to tranny groundstrap recently. The starter is a new Bosch unit I installed a few months ago. The battery is about 3 months old. The coil is Bosch. The points, condensor, distributor cap, rotor button are fairly new Bosch (came in a brand new 009 I stuck in it recently) OK, everybody give me heck about that too . . . I preach to everyone who will listen that the 009 isn't really that good. A stock distributor with both vacuum and mechanical advance will usually perform better . . . but I'm a cheapo . . . got the 009 on sale for $45 with free shipping . . . when you add up the cost for a set of Bosch points, a distributor cap and a rotor button, the 009 is REALLY cheap. And it will work OK. In other words . . . "Take my advice . . . I'm not using it." ANYWAY . . . back to Homer's electrical system . . .
Besides the starting and charging issues, Homer has more than his share of other electrical problems. The insulation on most of the original wiring under the dash has melted and rehardened at some point in time. A previous owner installed a universal aftermarket ignition switch in the dash and ran a new wire from the switch to the starter. For the first year or two I drove him, it was a regular occurance for the generator light to come on and smoke start seeping from under the gages. I could reach under the dash and shake the wires around a little and it would stop. The last time I remember it doing that was when we headed home from Florida Bug Jam 2003 . . . so it's been over a year . . . guess I finally shook the wires into the right place. 'Cept now if I turn on the emergency flashers and then turn the switch off, the engine will keep running until I turn the flashers off. :whistle:
