Thing 181 Wiring Diagrams

[david58]

Greetings all. Some of you may know that I have been working on some high-resolution versions of Thing wiring diagrams. I am happy to report that they are now available in the Samba Technical section. (Technical –> Wiring –> Thing)

I will use this thread to announce revisions when they are made available. Every effort has been made to make these documents as accurate as possible. I used original VW source documents where available. If you spot any typos, errors, omissions, etc. please notify me via private message and I will make the necessary changes. Please note that where the wire colors on my car, and possibly yours, differ from the source diagram, I deferred to the source diagram.

The impetus for this project was an electrical issue I had. I have seen many so-called Thing wiring diagrams, but many of them were inaccurate, incomplete, partially illegible, or not actually pertaining to the Thing. I found a pretty decent scan of a European-version current flow diagram, which actually had the 181 model number and date printed on it. I compared that to the lo-res "yellow" current flow diagram which has resided in the Technical section for a long time to confirm that the yellow diagram actually pertains to the Thing, and then I rebuilt it stick-by-stick in a vector-based drawing program, and saved it as a PDF file. If you don't know what that means let it suffice to say that you can zoom in as far as you need to to see the detail. I used the information in this diagram as a basis for the rest.

The documents (I'm just linking to the tech section. They're all there. Some of them are large, so please be patient.):

181_Current_Flow_Diagram_4-73.pdf
As I mentioned, a reasonably faithful PDF reproduction of a 181 current-flow diagram dated 4/73. It's the North American version, with the wire color change for the elephant ear tail lights and front turn signals with the shared bulb for turn signals and running lights, as well as the side marker lights. It also includes descriptions, which the "yellow" diagram lacks.

181_Wiring_Diagram_4-73.pdf
Many people find the current flow diagram to be a little daunting to decipher. This drawing is a translation of the current flow diagram into the more friendly component-based style, with pictographic representations of the electrical components roughly laid out as they are in the car. Again, it's a North American version, and includes elephant ear tail lights, the windshield wiper switch as a stalk on the column vs. a knob on the dash, etc.

181_Fuse_Block_Wiring_Detail.pdf
Just what it says - a diagram of the Fuse Box showing fuse ratings, wire sizes and colors, and terminal information where appropriate. I have posted earlier versions of this diagram in various threads. If you downloaded a prior version, please trash it and use this one. The whole point of this exercise is to make the information as definitive as possible, and the last thing we need is old inaccurate versions circulating around. Prior versions are undated. These new diagrams have a date in light gray type in the lower right corner.

181_Tail_Light_Wiring_Detail.pdf
This drawing depicts the tail light wire colors as they change at the two 4-pin connectors in the engine compartment. This issue has come up several times on the board, so I thought it deserved its own drawing. As with the fuse block drawing, if you have a previous (undated) version, please trash it.

How_to_Read_Current_Flow.pdf
A concatenation of several pages which explain how to read current flow diagrams. For some reason, scans of those pages are rarely posted together, so I put everything on one page.

Pending releases: current flow and component-based wiring diagrams for the Eberspächer BN-4 heater.

I had loads of fun doing this project, and learned a lot. We all owe a HUGE thank you to tallman206, a fellow Samba member without whose proofreading and advice these drawings would not have been possible. Thanks also to Ian Epperson, Pierre G, and everyone else who answered all of my fool questions.

Cheers!

Wiring Diagrams Finished and Available

[Captain Spalding]

I had just logged on to make a similar post. You beat me to it, David.

If anyone finds any errors, omissions, etc. (and I would consider it a miracle if there weren't any) please let me know and I will make the necessary revisions.

I've already been notified of some switched terminology on the Tail light wiring detail, and some tough-to-read terminal numbers on the Wiring Diagram.

Cheers.

[david58]

I couldn't wait those are the best diagrams I have ever seen. Great work.