Front Wiring Harness
The front wiring harness is fairly easy to interchange, and many parts suppliers provide fronts for many years of Beetle, minus the 1973 Super Beetle, of course. I chose to remove the harness when painting the body, then re-installed it afterwords. Someone painted over the harness in the past, so I know exactly where it clamped prior to restoration.
The harness consists of 11 wires. The lay out as follows:
| Wire Color | Function | Harness Side | Fusebox / Dash Side |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yellow | Driver Low Beam | Headlight Driver’s Side | Fusebox #3 |
| Yellow / Black | Passenger Low Beam | Headlight Passenger Side | Fusebox #4 |
| White | Driver High Beam | Headlight Driver’s Side | Fusebox #5 |
| White / Black | Passenger High Beam | Headlight Passenger Side | Fusebox #6 |
| Brown | Ground | Horn | Ground behind the dash |
| Black / Red | Brake Switch | Brake Switch (81) | Single connector under dash |
| Red | Brake Switch | Brake Switch (82a) | Brake Warning Light (K) |
| Black | Horn / Brake Switch | Brake Switch (82a) | Fusebox #11 |
| Black / Green | Driver Turn Signal | Double Connector – Inside Trunk / Driver Front | Emergency Flasher (R) |
| Black / White | Passenger Turn Signal | Double Connector – Inside Trunk / Passenger Front | Emergency Flasher (L) |
| Grey |
The lights that have brown connections from the light-side of the harness are screwed down to the front areas on either side of the luggage compartment. The harness splits into a passenger and drivers side, with the passenger headlight and turn signal wires on the longer section , and the driver’s headlight, turn signal, and horn on the shorter run of the split.
Upstream over the driver’s wheel well is where the master cylinder split out of the three wires occurs. The harness now runs through the lower firewall section above the driver’s left knee and held in place with the other harnesses as they run to the middle of the dash, where the fusebox lives. Before the wires reach the fusebox, the front harness is joined together with an 8-way connector. The wires on one side of the connector are the same color as the ones on the other; the connector only plugs in one way.
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