A pretty advanced electronic marvel was introduced beginning in 1966. It was the 9 pin box that ran the turn signals, brakes, and emergency flasher. It may have been a step forward from a technology standpoint. However, there is a reason it only lasted a few years in the beetles.
If you have ever heard the expression “The dreaded blue box”, you know what I am talking about. For any 1966 beetle owner that has a six volt system, these boxes are very hard to find. The 12 volt version is still be manufactured in the aftermarket world. 6 volt people – you are pretty much out of luck.
Ten years ago if you had a 6 volt system, you could buy an aftermarket solid state type replacement. I actually have one that is stored away “just in case”. Now, even that product is not available. So it puts VW folks that still have the six volt systems in a quandary, if their box happens to fail.
However, not all is lost as there was a gentleman names Matt Roberds, that made a troubleshooting and replacement guide. In his document he talks about the internal workings of the 9 pin box and what you can do to repair or replace it. I’ve read through it, and while it doesn’t seem super complicated, I think sourcing the parts (relays) may prove to be the biggest challenge. I looked at some of the parts that would need to be purchased and they had large minimum order quantities.
Parts may be available in places other than those he lists, so it’s worth the investigation.
The 1967 9 pin box is still available, but it is 12 volt. So if your ’66 is 12 volts, you have an easy solution. Ebay also has quite a few 6 volt 9 pin boxes for sale that are listed as “working”. So, there is an avenue for getting back on the road with a old stock part.
It would be nice if someone started to produce the aftermarket replacements again for 6 volt, however, I don’t see that happening. I may dig out my replacement 6 volt aftermarket model and see if the parts on it are still available and if so, who knows, I may attempt to create one.
Here is the old schematic, just incase you are so inclined to try and figure out a solution on your own:
So anyway, technology moved forward at VW in 1966 with the introduction of that 9 pin box. However, it looks like in the end they realized they had complicated the turn signal, flasher, brake combination unnecessarily. That is probably why the use of it died in the beetle half way through 1968.
