Won't go into gear- Please Help!

[dylan1]

Hi, I hope someone can help- I am almost in tears!
My 1303 autostick won't go into gear at all. I think it is a loose wire somewhere.

The wires on the servo control in the engine bay look all correct. the thick orange wire that goes from the servo control, behind the fan and out under the car, however, is not connected to anything under there. Where does it go? to the starter motor? Somewhere on the gear box? Up under the rear seat? At the moment it is just hanging there. Also there are many unconnected wires under the rear seat- would one of these need to be connected somewhere?
I have the Haynes manual but I am finding the wiring hard to follow and there is not much info. I am not clear how many wires my starter should have coming off it- at the moment there is 1- to the battery. Also where on earth is the starter inhibitor switch that the Haynes mentions but doesn't say where it is located?
Thanks for your help - I am not finding it easy to get info on the autostick model

[Cobey]

The wires is probably the neutral start inhibitor and if so should go to the switch on the transmission.

[bookwus]

Hiya Dylan,

It would help to have some details on your situation.  For example, is the shift lever just not moving?  Or is it moving and grinding gears?

Know that your AutoStick must be in nuetral in order to start.  If you can start your car, then your nuetral safety switch is probably OK.

You should have only two wires routed to your Control Valve solenoid.  Both must be connected in order for the solenoid to "prod" the Control Valve into doing its job.  One is a black wire which leads over to the positive side of the coil.  In that leangth of black wire you should find an inline fuse.  Make sure that fuse is intact and functioning (this is often the source of problems).  The other wire should be a brown one.  That brown wire will lead back behind the fan shroud and forward to the nuetral safety switch.  Check 'em out.

Under your rear set you should find a blue (or brown) wire coming back from the base of your shift lever.  It should make a secure connection with a black or brown wire which leads to the nuetral safety switch.  Check those out.  By the way, when checking ALL these connections take some time to clean them and make sure the connections are tight.

If you don't find the problem during the checks above, then you are likely to have a problem with the points inside the shift lever or the Control Valve solenoid.

Mike

1970 AS Bug

[dylan1]

Thanks for that, really clear and helpful. Exactly what I needed- black wire goes to... I was finding the wring diagrams very complicated.
The car just won't go into a gear at all. If I force the stick (all my weight on it, both feet, etc.) it will gring and crunch but still not go in.
I am going to test all the connections outlined above and let you know.

[bookwus]

Hiya Dylan,

I suspected you might be getting a grinding when you attempted to shift.  That grinding tells you that the Control Valve (for some, as of yet undetermined reason) is not doing its job.  Once you get it back online your problems should be over.

Mike

1970 AS Bug

[dylan1]

OK been under the car and found three wires on the gearbox nosecone area (assume this is the "Inhibitor" or Neutral Safety switch) and all these seem to be secure and in the correct place.
BUT
I can't find a connection for my loose wire- the one from the servo in the engine bay:

I can't find a spare connector for this to go on. Does it go on with those three wires or is there another connection on the nosecone, buried underneath the oil/mud?
Thanks for your help so far

[bookwus]

Hiya Dylan,

Well, nothing on a thirty-five year old car seems to be clear and straightforward, does it?  In this case I think we have to deal with a PO who had a creative sense of wiring.

First, some information, then some questions.

There is only ONE Nuetral Safety Switch (also called a Starter Cut-out Switch, a Bypass Switch, Inhibitor, etc).  Wired to that Safety Switch you SHOULD find a brown wire coming from the Control Valve Solenoid (we mentioned that in a previous post).  You should also find a brown wire coming from (via a backseat connector) the shift lever - we also discussed that one.  AND you should find a big red wire coming from the Starter Sloenoid.  Lastly you should find a red wire with a black runner also leading to a connector which, in turn leads to the temperature indicator on your speedometer and the ATF Temperature Control Switch.  Four wires in all.  By the way, the ATF Temperature Control Switch is located close to the Nuetral Safety Switch.  That should do it on all the connections to the switches screwed into the tranny.

Now......the orange wire.  To be honest............I dunno!  I'm guessing that it might be taking the place of the brown wire from the Control Valve Solenoid to the Nuetral Safety Switch.  Possibly a PO changed the original wiring from brown to orange?  Just a guess.

But a question for you.  Exactly where does that orange wire connect up?  You mention a servo in the engine bay.  Are you speaking about the Control Valve Solenoid?  A picture would help a bunch.

Hang in there!

[dylan1]

Hi Mike
Yes a PO may well have changed the wiring- there are lots of areas where I have found "creative" solutions on this car. The annoying thing is, it drove fine for 3 days, now this!
Here is the pic of the Control Valve Solenoid in the engine bay. The red wire  goes into the orange wire casing you see in the first pic. So the red wire in this pic goes behind the fan, through a hole and down under the car. And there it hangs, with no connector that I can see.

[bookwus]

Hiya Dylan,

No doubt about it now.

That orange/red wire is the lead to the Nuetral Safety Switch.  It needs to lead back to and be connected with the Nuetral Safety Switch.  That should (if everything else is functioning as designed) enable you start up and shift gears.  Looks as if the PO replaced the original brown wire with the red-orange and the original black wire with a tan one.  By the way, do you have an in-line fuse in that tan wire?

[dylan1]

Hi Mike
No there is no fuse on the tan wire- it leads to the coil but no fuse inbetween.
So, I should connect the red/orange in here:


But where? into the white connector? Or is there a male connector for it somewhere on the switch. The red/orange has a female connector
Thanks again
Dylan

[dylan1]

Just adding this for anyone else with a similar problem. Eventually found the lead to connect to over by the starter motor! Just reconnected and all was fine. Such a small thing caused a huge problem but all sorted now. Thanks to Mike for his help.

[volkenstein]

Dylan1,
         After having a look at your control valve piccie.....replace the hoses as soon as you find the time. They look like they are so old they are crumbling away. Brake booster hose is a good alternative if some OE VW stuff can't be found...the semi-auto relies heavily on vacuum.

Enjoy
Volkenstein

[dylan1]

Hi
Thanks, yes I am planning to replace them- still searching for the correct hose, but will try your suggestion if I can't find them.
They still work fine but I don't think they will last much longer

[Hasan]

CAN SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME!!! I NEED TO POUR OIL INTO THE GEARBOX BUT HAVE NOT GOT A CLUE WHERE TO POUR THE OIL???

PLEASE HELP!!!! :cry:

[Cobey]

hasan - do you mean the ATF or the hypoid oil?  The ATF should be obvious.  The hypoid oil that goes in the trans is filled on driver's side of the trans.  There is a 17mm hex nut there that needs to be removed in order to fill up.