Two live connectors to the solenoid ......one from battery , the other from engine side ...both red ... if they are correctly on , try clipping a jump lead to batt. and engine , just in case you have a bad earth .. ?

 

Thats from neg. terminal , of course ...!!! As its been stood , have you got fuel delivery ..?? Will it fire on easy start , to get it going ..??

 

power cable from the battery is black... bit confusing the first time.
but will double check, there are 3 or 4 wires connected to the starter, one from the battery, and the others from i don't know where.

fuel delivery, i think is fine. i mean it started up before the winter, what could go wrong eh
can i just check it somehow? disconnect a fuel line from the diesel filter and try and crank it to see if it flows?

still concerned about the hot cables though. will get underneath the car again for the starter motor cables.

 

Just had a closer look .....Yes , live from batt. is black , then a heavy red wire from under engine , and a black/red to spade connector ..... mine,s a 93-4 AAB ....

 

Thanks,
got home yesterday just in time before the sun goes down.
i took a pic of how mine is attached, does the red wire needs to go on the same place as the black battery cable?

 

Hi. You have got it wrong. The big wire that comes from battery minus needs to go to an earth behind one of the bolts that holds starter on

Good luck

 

ok, so the big black cable from battery + and the big red cable need to go behind the same bolt.
and the starter mass needs to go alone on behind the small bolt, and there should be a wire from the battery - that goes between a blot that holds the starter to the engine block.

lets see if i can hook it up correctly tonight

 

That red wire is on the wrong solenoid terminal. I think you need to get help before you set this van on fire!!!! There is already a very good chance that you have fried your alternator.

 

help is expensive
if alternator is fried, it needed a new one anyway, but indeed, stupid mistake.
first i had both cables on the correct terminal, but then the starter would fire when i hooked up the battery, even without key.
therefor i switched something up, but with the above result...

i got the cables switched to the correct terminal now again, looked a bit around and the 2 50a fuses going to the glow plug relais were broken in the middle.
changed them, tried to start.... nothing.

gonna check the ground tonight, startercable from battery - to engine block to see if it fires up then, if not, gonna keep on looking.


question: does it need an alternator to start up? or can i start even if the alternator is broken, how do i test an alternator.
2nd question, how can i see if the engine is getting fuel? take of a fuel line from the fuel filter and try and start the engine?

already thanks for the help!

 

Hi. Does the van turnover with the starter. If so try a squirt of easy start down the air intake if it starts you have a fuel problem

Good luck

 

The van should start even if the alternator is goosed. Is the van cranking over now or not? If it is cranking over but not firing then there is no fuel.

 

it's turning over, but it turned over also when the cables were incorrectly attached to the starter.
cables still getting very hot, gonna look further this evening.

 

When you replaced the filters did you fill the new fuel filter with diesel? If not then no amount of cranking will pull it through.

I use a small hand primer bulb connected before the filter inlet to get these going.

If you keep cranking you will damage the starter (Not that I think it will be much good after the way it was connected)

Just to confirm.

Red cable from battery +positive to solenoid is now OK as pictured. You previously had this to Earth

Black cable should either be, straight from battery -negative, or, there will be a cable from the chassis and near the battery there will be another cable from the inner wing area to the battery -negative

Whichever way you are connected there should always be an earth from the engine/gearbox to the chassis

Sound to me like you have a bad earth connection

You may have damaged the internal insulation of the stater motor

Good luck

 

NOTE!!!!!

VW use BROWN for the negative cable (possibly as it looks like mud/EARTH) and BLACK is a positive!

This is why sooo many people get the jump cables wrong....assuming the black is negative, and possibly the brown is just a dirty coloured red cable.

I'm still not sure your solenoid wiring is correct....but I admit to being colour blind (with 50 years electrical/electronics behind me )

 

Right, I went and had a look at my AAB
The +positive terminal will have one black cable and several smaller red cables
The -negative terminal will have one black cable and several smaller brown cables

Your starter end of things is wired correctly.
The red wire goes from the starter to the alternator and the thick black one should is attached to the +positive battery terminal.

Underneath the starter there should be another black cable attached to the gearbox through one of the mounting bolts, this goes to the chassis then onto the -negative battery terminal. I would disconnect these and clean the area with a wire brush or sandpaper then reattach.

I still think you need to hand prime the fuel filter to get it started and don't forget to use the in cab cold start lever

 

thanks for the replies and help looking into things !

ordered everything to make a new earth cable and new negative battery terminal.
the original earth cable went indeed from battery, to chassis, to gearbox, to engine. this was done with a single wire.

since the cable is not longer deliverable, i will make a cable per section, would this be ok?

so one cable from battery to chassis, from the same chassis point another cable to the gearbox, from the same point on the gearbox to the engine.
will make sure that the bolts and things are clean and sanded.
or is it recommended to use a single cable with those side cable eyes, or however you call them.

i filled the filter with Diesel injector cleaner all the way to the top. it should run anyway on this chemical no?

afterwards, if this doesn't help, i will change the starter (and try to hook it up right the first time...)

 

As long as you crimp the terminals correctly to the cables, using separate "lugs" should be OK.
Just make sure all points of contact are clean, and after fitting, I suggest a coat of silicone grease or similar smeared over them to prevent corrosion. (KY jelly also works if you happen to have a tube of it around Rasp

 

so, new cables made and placed, double checked if the starter is ok, followed this video:

starter does everything it's supposed to do, so that's not the problem.
now need to make sure that it gets fuel as i'm not sure.
just loosen the bolt of the fuel line on the injector and try to start?
or is there another way.

if no fuel, then the diesel pump is broken? or just stuck maybe, i don't know.
but then i think it's time to tow it to the garage

 

Video won't play.....post a link to it instead of "inserting" it.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-RzcsdFoRQ

this is what i followed

 

Problem is, they talk about red and black wires.
VW use BROWN as negative, and the BLACK is positive!!!!!!

 

it was just to show the way i tested the starter, wasn't in the car.
cables are correct attached (now atleast...).

no more electrical issue, now its fuel issue
no fuel in lines :*

 

As I said before you need a hand primer fitted before the filter and to loosen the connections on each injector as the vehicle is cranked over. Do not crank for more than 10 or 15 seconds and let the starter cool between cranking or you will be back to square one.

Are your fuel lines at the filter correctly connected?

 

no hand pump, but i undid the fuel lines and filled them up because they were dry dry dry...

fuelpump began to leak, still checked if every injector received fuel, but not all of them did :*
so, seen the leaking issue and not getting any fuel to all injectors, i think it's best to just get it to a garage and have it looked at.
they can change the belt and waterpump at the same time, then everything should b fine for a few years

thanks for the help!