ok so it came in the mail today but there are no instructions, i can post pics if needed, now can anyone walk me through the best way to go about this preferably with pics, or just straight help me do it
This the 1.8T sub harness for the coils? The one from VAG? If so done this a bunch of times, common problem on 1.8T’s Drop me a line if you need help…
yes thats it, i picked it up off of esctuning, i know its common but electrical systems scare me. i was hoping to do this tonight but with no instructions im to scared to start i dont want to cut some wrong wire or splice together the wrong ones
It’s pretty straight forward if you have some basic wiring skills. You should use either soldered and shrink wrapped splice connections, or good quality butt splice connectors. You need to start out by removing the harness from the motor enough for you to work on it, and then start unwrapping the plastic covers and electrical tape VAG likes to use. Lay the harness out as it should be and do one cylinder at a time. Start at #1 and clip the connectors to the coilpack…lay the new wires out for that connector along the factory harness and where it terminates measure back up 1" on the factory harness and cut the wires for that cylinder. do one single wire at a time and just match it up to the placement on the stock harness connector. Doing it this way ensures you don’t mix up a single wire. Splice in the new harness and then move onto cylinder #2. Repeat until all four cylinders are done, then rewrap the harness in good electrical tape.
Pain in the butt to explain on a post but it’s a lot easier on the transverse VW’s than the damn Quattro Audi’s that’s for certain. Just take your time.
helps a little ive looked at it alot and i know it shouldnt be to bad its reallly easily accessable im still just nervous because im not good with electrical wires, now i gotta see if my dad even has a soldering iron
well after looking at this if i remove some shit like my c.a.i it gives me 10x more room, only to find out i dont have a soldiering iron
scoop one at harbor freight, they have them from anywhere from like $5 to $60
good plan i’ll stop by after i eat my burger
One tip here…if you’e not GOOD at soldering you’re better off using crimp butt splice connectors. There is a proper way to solder and join two wires in a butt splice connection and if done incorrectly it will lead to a faulty joint. One that could leave you stranded at any given moment. Plus you’ll need to shrink wrap them joints, not wrap them in electrical tape. Just be certain you can do it right if you’re going to solder that’s all. I’m not saying you can’t do it, I just don’t want you to get stranded someplace if a solder joint breaks.
If not, there’s nothing wrong with butt splice connections. they even sell the connectors with a shrink wrap feature to totally seal out moisture. Those connectors can be found at Adavanced Auto for certain.
Proper way to complete a solder butt splice in 18-20AWG wire for you incase you want to try to solder.
-Heat iron up completely
-Strip insulation of ends of both wires by 1/2"
-Cut piece of shrink wrap 1.5" long and slip over the wire that allows you to move the shring wrap as far away from the solder joint as possible. sodler heat WILL shrink the wrap up if too close.
-“Fan out” the individual strands of wire on each of the striped wires. Fan the wires out in abou a 30 degree angle, evenly all around the wire. What you’re going to do is take those wires and interlock all the strands together between the two wires, the fold them down over each other and twist together in one smooth motion…forming a twisted wire joint. If you’re having a hard time getting this, it’s just the same as you taking your hands and putting them together with all your fingers interlocked(laced) together and clamped up into a ball.
-Take your hot iron and tin the tip with solder. Tinning is simply applying a bit of solder to the tip to cover it and then wiping off the excess on a wet sponge or cloth.
-Now here’s the important part…apply the heat from the iron to the WIRE not the SOLDER. Touch the tip to the center of the wire connection for about 5-10 seconds, the FEED the solder into the hot wire to melt it into all the little strands. Remove the solder, then remove the iron tip and allow to cool. If your having a hard time melting the solder into the wire, apply a very small amount of solder to the tip and then touch the wire joint and feed to solder again. That will help transfer heat.
-Do NOT over apply solder to the joint. Just enough to fuse the joint all around. Too much solder will make the joint brittle and/or cause solder spikes which can punch through insulation and cause a short.
-Once the joint has cooled to the touch, slide the shrink wrap over the joint(centered) and shrink. Use hot air not flame. Flame make the insulation brittle and will cause problems down the road.
You should get as thin of solder as possible, rosin core too to help clean the joint and make it strong. Thinner solder will melt easier on the smaller iron(25-35watt irons). The stuff from radioshack on the 2" diameter spools is the BEST solder I’ve ever used, their silver solder even better but not necessary in this application.
Repeat until all wires done.
^^^ good info above.
i was going to mention the proper way to make a HOT solder joint, but you’ve got it all covered. :tong
i think im just gonna get crimps then shrink wrap, and if someone later on wants to help me solder them then thats possible but i dont want to fuck this up so im crimping them
crimp connectors aren’t that bad of a way to go, just make sure you use the proper gauge/ crimping tool. if you don’t crimp them properly, you’ll find the wire will slip out quite easily.
oh yeah, and soldering= easy. you can do it bro.
allright im gonna pick up a soldering iron over at harbor freight anyways, im probably gonna do it tomoro since im leaving in 30min to go hang out with you guys, (driving a different car brw) but anybody want to just like supervise it, id feel alot better doing it with a little guidance from someone who’s done this before
I’ve been doing a lot of soldering lately… your solder joint should look similar to this when you’re done
done by yours truly haha