Back when I owned my 2005 New Beetle, I had an O2 sensor fail. The car was under warranty at the time, but it wasn’t the only time it had been in for an electrical problem. The service manager told me that the car would need to be kept for a few days, and asked if I needed a rental. I told him “No, I am going home and using my 1966 beetle, there’s only two lights, one for the generator and one for the oil, and that’s all I really need”. Even he admitted things were simpler back then!
It goes without saying that a world of difference exists between cars made in the 1960’s and the cars that were produced 50 years later. They are more complicated, and complication leads to expensive and difficult troubleshooting and repairs. So what did the new beetle have in common with the 1966? Only the shape! Everything else was just a modern car.
VW might have missed the boat with the new beetle. Had it been a simplistic modern car that had just the essentials, it may have found a better and broader market. Plus the price point would have been much lower.
Of course those of us that have the classic beetles understand that there is a lot less that can fail on our cars. We don’t have all the sensors and complicated electronics and there’s no radiator or drive shaft. We have what we need, and that is all.
Which brings me to the two warning lights that we do have. One is for the generator (red), and the other is for the oil (Green). They are conveniently located at the bottom of the speedometer. Don’t let their size minimize their importance, they are the difference between a running engine and a blown engine.
This is why every time, and I mean every time you turn your key on, you need to make sure both lights are illuminated. If they are not glowing, it’s time to postpone your trip and investigate the cause.
When the red light comes on there is a problem in the electrical system. If you turn your key to the on position (not start) and the red light doesnt come on, you better fix that before you go anywhere. You can start by opening your engine lid and finding the voltage regulator and checking the connection there. Find the thinnest wire, that is the one that heads up to the red light in the speedometer. It is a push on connection, make sure it has good contact. Try the light again, if it is still not operable, ground that wire you just checked. If it lights up you have a bad regulator (us 66 people anyway). If it doesn’t light up, go check the bulb.
Another major malfunction that may cause the red light to come on, is a broken fan belt. When the generator is turning, so is the fan. If your fan belt breaks, you generator ceases to turn which illuminates the red light. If you see that light, you had better turn your car off immediately. Next, coast to the side of the road. Your fan is no longer turning, and it won’t take long before your engine overheats and is ruined.
An oil pressure switch operates the oil pressure indicator bulb on the speedometer. One wire comes from the ignition and the other from the engine area. There it connects to the oil pressure switch. If your oil pressure drops below normal, the warning light will be triggered. Again, pull off to the side of the road and check your wire at the switch and your oil level.
If the bulb doesn’t come on at all, you probably have a bad bulb or a bad switch, which you can test by taking the lead off the pressure switch and grounding it. Now, if the light comes on when the wire has a good ground, the switch is probably bad. If not, check your bulb and replace if necessary.
This is not an all inclusive list of things to check or repair but covers most I believe. You can see we have a lot less things to worry about with our beetles, than a sophisticated modern car, but we still need to be vigilant.
When those lights come on – or don’t come on, our beetle is trying to tell us something. Listen to your bug!
