Turns out the mysterious brown wire with no connector or place to go was
a ground wire - suspiciously related to the Hall Sender and the ECU. I
remember removing a screw to be able to disconnect a brown wire when
removing the harness. I ttok another look at this mystery wire, saw how
it was naturally curved towards the screw hole, and concluded that was
it. Since the wire was short - I extended it with a weather proof butt
splice and put a weatherproof ring connector on the end, then fastened
it down. Started the engine - and it ran steadily with no tendency to
shut down. The slight intermittent miss is still there - but the engine
doesn't stall. I'll pursue the miss after  it stops raining.

John

John Rodgers
Clayartist and Moldmaker
88'GL VW Bus Driver
Chelsea, AL
Http://www.moldhaus.com

On 9/3/2011 3:26 PM, John Rodgers wrote:
> New wiring harness installed in engine bay. After a few moments of
> fiddling - it sounded really good.  Today it sounds like - you know -
> starts with a C!
>
> Engine fires right up, then settles into an idle that is "ok" but not
> wonderful - I can hear an intermittant misfire. Then it begins to run
> more and more and more ragged until it quits with a wheeze. Tried
> re-adjusting the idle - NADA!   I have checked and rechecked for vacuum
> leaks, loose wires, etc. Nothing. I'm at a loss.
>
> Any ideas?
>
> Thanks.
>
> John
>
> --
> John Rodgers
> Clayartist and Moldmaker
> 88'GL VW Bus Driver
> Chelsea, AL
> Http://www.moldhaus.com
>
>