Hello,

Thank you all for your replies.

I had already verified all of the ground paths and determined the
voltage drop was in the positive wiring.  With your help, I located the
junction that I couldn't find.  My car has no corrosion on any if the
connections, but I still checked each current path across the junctions
for any voltage drop.  None was found.  I determined that all of the
loss in voltage was in the wires themselves.  Since they are in great
condition, I concluded that this is the way VW designed it.

I then checked the age of my battery.  In its protected location, it
stays so clean that I was surprised to see that it was more than 6 years
old.  So, I decided to retain the wiring without the improvements and
replace the battery.  I may not know whether that was a good decision
for another 6 years.

A funny story.  When I bought the new battery, the clerk charged me for
two batteries since the the old battery was so clean he didn't realize
that it was the core.

Thanks again for all your help,
Mike