hi TJ,
great story.
( a battery switch  in a wheel well though .....???? Thought you were going
to say the RV parked so close you couldn't get to it ....and
also............mud/crud comes to mind. )

anyway ..
two things .
On an automatic vanagon of my own ...
I rigged up a heavy duy  auxiliary starter button on the dash right above
the light switch ..nice spot there.
I intentionally bypassed the neutral safety switch for two reasons.
the neutral swithch was acting up ..
and I wanted to be able to shut off the engine, in gear, like waiting for a
long light in traffic...
( then turn the key back on  ) ..when  it's time to go ...just push the
starter button and move right out in gear ...
just leave the shift lever in D or 2nd ) ...
  a low tech version of modern engine-stop systems that save fuel.

the other item .......
I have a syncro gas tank .
the whole thing, including sender.  ( no filler neck though )
it's for a gasoline syncro.
It is for sale or trade.

Scott
www.turbovans.com

----- Original Message -----
From: "TJ Hemrick" <x53gunner@GMAIL.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Wednesday, June 22, 2011 9:57 PM
Subject: Remote starter switch mayhem (Funny -now)

>  In the sake of safety, I'll let this one out of the bag.
> After unsuccessfully working a starter problem (switch, wiring, stater,
> etc...) I needed the van to work and work 100% as I had to move out of
> housing that was going to be demolished (for the curious-- it was old
> military housing that was sold and privatized).  In the interest of making
> it work, I ran two battery cables to a Hella battery disconnect switch and
> jammed it (the switch) up into the rear wheel well.  It worked well for
> the
> couple of times I used it.  Late one evening, the neighbors had parked
> their
> U-Haul (26 footer) in our shared driveway and the back end of my Vanagon
> was
> a mere 20 feet from the side of the U-Haul.  Now I have an automatic in
> the
> GL and never thought much about it.  The van didn't start up, I got out,
> fired the remote switch up.  The van burped a few times and then, slowly
> it
> lurched backwards and started rolling backwards, instinctively, I ran
> BEHIND
> the van and BETWEEN the parked U-Haul and my moving vanagon and
> frantically
> struggled to JAM my foot on the brakes as fast as possible.  I was only
> inches from the U-Haul when I got the beast stopped.  The only thing
> rolling
> was my neighbor after watching the modern day version of Laurel and Hardy
> or
> the Keystone cops.  I'm laughing now but thinking about and seeing that
> thing on a path for destruction was not good.  The neutral safety switch
> works perfectly with the KEY but when I hit the starter with the remote
> switch, all bets were off.  Not sure why or how or if it was just a fluke
> but I'll echo Scott's words,  Be D@mn careful if you rig one up.  I worked
> as both a Porsche and a VW tech (that's either a good or bad thing in this
> case) so it's not like I didn't know better.
>
> TJ
>
> BTW, if anyone wants to trade stuff, I need a syncro fuel tank.  I have
> alloys, instrument cluster (4 speed w/tach), bra and some ECU, AFM, heads
> (cracks between valve seats) and some other stuff.  I have some older
> Porsche Fuchs alloys but I'm also needing a GOOD, CLEAN, running 2.1 WBX
> so
> if you're doing a swap or know someone who want's some great rims, give me
> a
> shout.
>
>
> Date:    Wed, 22 Jun 2011 11:55:00 -0700
> From:    Scott Daniel - Turbovans <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
> Subject: Re: Remote Starter Switch Wire-up for '88GL
>
> re
> "Because once the motor
> starts turning on it's own,
> you're a long ways away from turning it off "
>
> true if ignition is on.
> often when using a remote starter switch the ignition is kept off..
> like you're testing compression, testing the starter itself etc.
>
> but yes..
> darn right need to be super careful at all times.
>
> I use a push-on  connector right to the 'trigger terminal' at the starter
> solenoid.
> Some have two terminals there...so just plug onto one.
> if there's on one trigger terminal, get a 'double up' push-in spade
> connector ( not as easy to find as they were back in the old air-cooled
> days ) .
> then I just run it to near the alternator.
>
> it's not 'that advisable' to touch the end of the wire to the alternator
> positive post ..but you can in an emergency. Normally you'd connect your
> remote starter switch between that hot post and your cheater wire.  I just
> cap mine off with a twist type wire connector ..like you'd use in house
> wiring .
>
> tuck it out of sight ..
> and make sure it can't touch anything electrically ..
> and you're good to go.
>
> you could go to the trigger terminal of the starter booster relay that you
> have installed..
> but that defeats part of the idea of this cheater wire..
> the idea, for starter troubleshooting is, that the entire rest of the van
> and all starter circuitry are out of the picture when you are triggering
> the
> solenoid directly yourself with the cheater wire and a remote starter
> switch.
>
> One groggy day long ago...........early 70's ...
> I had to get under VW bug to get it to fire up.
> somehow it came down off the jack in gear and took off on it's own ..
> didn't get far fortunately. That was fun.  So yes...always be super
> careful
> working on cars ..
> there are LOTS of ways to hurt yourself or others working on cars. !
>
> for example..
> I have a rule to never do a tweak or an adjustment on an engine while it
> is
> running ..
> unless it's really necessary , like to adjust idle.  So even if it's just
> add a wire tie say ..
> something you'd think takes a second and can't possibly be dangerous ..I
> only do that on , no matter how minor, on an engine that is not running.
> Safety rules and procedures work better when observed black-or-white.  You
> don't drive 50 feet without a seat belt on.  You never have loose clothing
> or jewelry on working on a car.  You never touch a running engine unless
> it
> needs to be running for the procedure, etc.
>
> what fun. Do good safe solid-workmanship vanagon work !
> Scott
> www.turbovans.com