Warning - Damaged Positive Battery Cable

[blakey]

Thought I'd share this experience:

I replaced my radiator at the weekend - the battery positive cable to the starter motor and fan wiring were cable tied to the cooling fan housing, once I'd removed the radiator and fan assembly I noticed that the insulation was worn through down to the copper on the battery cable, please see the photo below (apologies for the poor quality)

https://photos.app.goo.gl/p26jihurFZnGZFYS8

Suffice to say, if it had gone unnoticed it could have resulted in me finding the smouldering remains of my Scirocco one day.

Most of the Scirocco's & Golf's I've owned have the wiring secured in this way, definitely worth checking yours!

[mark1gls]

Good advice.

[james butler]

good spot!
to be honset cable is so cheap nowadays it should be replaced as a matter of course every 20 years to protect against insulation breakdown.
i have replaced all mine recently but need to do the datsuns.

[mark1gls]

I’ve also read the replacing the earth lead with a Mk3 golf style cable is a good idea as VW added a extra bit of cable from the gearbox mount to the gearbox housing bolt attached to the engine block, I guess you could just add an extra bit of earth cable from the gearbox mount to the gearbox bolt and still achieve the same affect...