New to AutoStick

[tronview]

Hello

I just adopted a new member to my family. A 1972 Super Beetle. The whole beetle needs work but my main concern is the Auto Stick. I am an Auto Stick Virgin. I was wondering if there was any seasoned Auto Stick Owners in my area who would be willing to take a look at what I got and put me on the right coarse as I work to get the 72 driveable. I live between Atlanta and Athens Ga. in a little town called Bethlehem. I am quite active in the athensvwclub.com but none of our members know anything about autostick maintanance and setup.

Thanks

[Bookwus]

Hiya Tron,

Welcome to the wacky world of the AutoStick.

Members in Georgia?   Casey is down your way.  Perhaps he'll chime in and follow up on that.

However, if there's nobody really handy you can always post here and get help.  Pictures are an excellent idea (almost a necessity) to help convey ideas.

Once you get your AutoStick set up correctly it will prove to be a pretty reliable beast if others' experience means anything.  Of course, getting it to that point is the trick.  Most AutoSticks we see are set up incorrectly in one aspect or another.  And, as you are now finding out, people who are knowledgeable about AutoSticks are few and far in between.  That last statement is especially true of mechanics - be VERY careful who you allow to work on the car.  With all that in mind, your best alternative is for YOU to become reasonably proficient in AutoStick basics.  That will allow you to pull your own maintenance and intelligently assess more serious situations.  We here at VWAR can both act as a resource for information and help you with the basics.

Hope to hear from you soon.

[68for500]

Hey Tron-

As per usual, solid advice from Bookwus....YOU are your best ally in the land of Autosticks...
I live in Seattle, and we have a few aircooled specialty shops around here, and even they can still look at you cross-eyed when you mention Autostick....educate yourself on how to work on it and it will give you a better car, and way more piece of mind! Good luck and welcome!

[tronview]

Thanks for the advice. Now where do I start. I got pipes that leak trany fluid whenever I start the engine. I got old dry rotted hoses mixed with what looks like high end garden hoses. Wires that don't match up with diagram (But thats normal with a old bug). I will admit it I haven't spent the time to read a whole lot on the autostick yet. I just got the engine running this weekend And brakes are next.

[Bookwus]

Hiya Tron,

You're smart to make brakes a priority.

As to the other problems..................All of the AutoStick's vacuum and electrical systems can be replaced if needed.  Most parts are not that difficult to locate despite what you may have heard.  From your brief description it sounds as if your particular car has not seen any sort of maintenance in a long time.  It may take a while to sort things out, but it can be done.

Do this......make some notes about problems.  Take pictures if you can.  Post up and we can handle each problem one at a time.

[ghibagirl]

Hi, Im new to this web site and am too a proud new owner of a autostick ghia 1968 that has sat beside a barn for bout 4 or 5 years. Ive already spent hours cleaning the two trash bags of rats nest from every nook and crany and fixed the obvious wires that where chewed and found that the engine runs great. next I replaced the frount pads and calabers and one barring and cant wait to take a trip around the block.
  Ive learned alot over the past few months, a lot of, my friend got from this web site. I found someone to get the part in the stick that attaches the ground wire and understand how that works but could use a wire dio for my exact year that a ghibagirl can understand. there some wires under the car that I cant tell where they go and they are not the neutral safty switch also the fues thats by the coil, is it suposed to have a wire come out of both ends like a inline? Because it dose not and looks weird.
  Id like to know the fues order for a 1968 ghia and a simple to read wire map for that year, I have several wire diograms but there for different years and differ from one another in one way or another. I know that Bently has the best info but my wallett and paitance are both thin to order one right now. Any info will help!
  Thank! Ghiba Girl 

[Bookwus]

Hiya Ghiba Girl,

Welcome to the forum!

For an easy-to-read color wiring diagram for your KG follow these steps..............

1.  Point your browser at http://www.vintagebus.com/

2.  Look down through the link on the left hand side of the webpage.  Find "Wiring Diagrams". Click on it.

3.  Scroll down through Bus and Bug section till you find Karmann Ghia.

4.  There is not a specific listing for 1968.  However, you will find 67-69.  That's the one you want.  Click on it and you'll have a very large wiring diagram for your 68 Ghia.

[ghibagirl]

Thanks for the info, I realy like that web site and found it useful. I wish all wire diograms where brightlly colored like that,  however it did not cover autostick models? or at least what I could tell?
  "Am I missing somthing?"   

Thanks again
Ghiba Girl 

[Bookwus]

Hiya Ghiba,

There is not much difference between the wiring for a manual and the wiring for an AutoStick.  The electricals involved for the AutoStick are usually presented as an "add-on" or additional wiring diagram.  The intent is that you use the regular (read:  Manual) wiring diagram and if your problem is with the AutoStick related portion of the wiring you should refer to the additional or "add-on" diagram.

To take a gander at the additional AutoStick wiring diagram go on back to VintageBus and scroll down until you hit the Bug section.  Look for 1970 (don't worry, the AS wiring is pretty much all the same), and then look for 1600 USA.  Then  move over to grren dot number 2 and click on that.  You should be looking at the wiring diagram for the AutoStick and the rear window defroster.

[68autobug]

WELCOME GHIBA GIRL

Mike has given You some good information there..

there is another plug on the gearbox with 3 wires on it...
similar to the neutral lockout switch...

If You can get the engine going first - then tackle the gearbox
and control valve hoses and wires...

Its best to replace ALL the hoses... especially the vacuum hoses..

You will be able to see if any of the ATF hoses or pipes leak..

there are a lot of pics in My website ; http://www.webshots.com/user/vw68autobug

as Mike said, take lots of photos so We all know what We are talking about
its very easy to get mixed up -

cheers

LEE