Electrical problems / rant (long)

[Daun Yeagley <vwdaun@yahoo.com>]

What am I doing wrong?  Why are the VW gods after me the
last couple weeks?

Yesterday I attempted to fix (and thought I might have
succeeded) my 16v, which has taken on the habit of
intermittently not starting.  Turn the key "on" and hear
the fuel pumps buzz, turn to "start" and it will a) crank
and crank with no hint of life, b) everything in the car
will go dead, or c) start perfectly.  Yesterday, I replaced
the battery (this one was a couple years old) and
thoroughly cleaned the battery terminals.  (I've been
getting more corrosion buildup than I'd like to see.)

Today, start out on my way home from Dayton - had been on
the road only a couple minutes and notice my oil temp gauge
is fluctuating all over the place, and my coolant gauge is
pegged and blinking.  Thought cycling the power might reset
things (HA!), when the key was turned to start I got
response b, above.  Nothing.  Dead.  Luckily I had a set of
jumper cables with me and hooked one end to the negative
terminal, the other to the alternator bracket.  Started the
car.  Went on my way, but the entire time I was *under
load* the coolant temp was pegged / blinking and oil temp
gauge waving.  (Push in the clutch, no load - everything
indicated normally.)

Looking under the hood once I was safely home - I notice
the negative battery terminal has a bunch of corrosion on
it already.  WTF?  I cleaned it less than 24 hours ago! 
I'm at this point positive my problem lies in faulty
grounding, but what is causing the corrosion buildup?  And
where do I go from here other than adding a bunch of awful
wires all over to various grounding points. (Somewhat
band-aiding the problem in this instance methinks.)

Add this to the fact that two days ago the Passat Wagon was
discovered to have a leaking headgasket, AND the shift
linkage came apart on the way home after dark....     the
'80 is, well, undriveable for the time being (as it has
been most of the summer), the truck is down almost to a
shell, and the '85 - well, for the moment it's running but
how long will that last????  AUUUUGH!!!!

The heck with this crap - maybe I should sell everything
and go buy a new Honda.


=====
Daun Yeagley - Wilmington Ohio
'80, '85, & '88 Sciroccos
'82 Pickup
'90 Passat Wagon

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