Zarwerks is proud to be the exclusive supplier of cloth loomed wiring harnesses for 1952 and earlier VW Beetles.  These reproduction harnesses were developed after extensive research and analysis of original harnesses found in early split window Beetles and are constructed of the very best materials available. The wires in the earliest versions of these harnesses are cloth covered PVC wires in the correct colors.  Cloth braided PVC gives the insulation and longevity benefits of PVC wiring with the vintage look of cloth covering.  All of the the harnesses are all braided with black cotton loom.  The larger diameter segments are machine braided using multi-thread machines after the harnesses are constructed, just like the originals.  The thinner diameter harnesses are hand covered with a black cotton looming. The ends of the wires are all terminated as they were in the factory over 50 years ago, they are stripped, non-corrosive rosin flux treated and dip-tinned in molten lead/tin (solder) to insure the ends do not fray.  The correct spade terminals and metric specification brass eyelets are used on the wires that had such termination's originally.  All of these connectors are soldered to the wire ends, not crimped.

We also have PVC wiring harnesses made of PVC insulated wires and bound with the same black cotton loom as our cloth wire harnesses. These harnesses are correct for '51 to Sept '52 Beetles. The exact date that VW switched over from cloth wire to PVC wire is not known. In fact it is not a fixed date at all, as original early '51 cars have been found with PVC wires, and other early '51 cars with cloth wire. It is likely that VW used them alternately for some period of time until the supply of cloth wire harnesses ran out. It has been our observation that cars after June '51 all have PVC wiring harnesses.

We also have harness kits for all Sept '52 and earlier Cabriolets and Hebmullers.

Our complete kits are just that, complete.  They include every wire used in the bodies of the car, whether part of a harness or a "loose" wire.  They also include the through-panel grommets.  But we also offer partial kits, extra wiring parts and individual harnesses if a complete kit is not what you need.

Our pricing table is below, use the link at the bottom of the table to request more information or place an order.  Most often we have harnesses in stock, but if not, lead time for harnesses is typically 4 weeks.  Following our pricing table is a comprehensive description of each harness we make with pictures of each.

Note: We are convinced that our harnesses are the most correct and complete of any available today.  All colors are per the original wiring diagram keys as are gauges with the exception of the .75 square mm cross section wires that VW used.   This equates almost exactly to a 20 gauge wire in the US AWG standard.  Such a gauge wire is not manufactured today in cloth.  Cloth wrapped, 18 gauge is the minimum and these are substituted in the few cases where VW originally used 20 gauge.

We have also discovered that harnesses for these year Beetles offered by our competitor are not correct. Colors, and most importantly wire gauge is incorrect in the harnesses from our competitors that we have examined. If you do choose to check on other sources for these harnesses, please insure that they are constructed of the correct materials. In 6 volt cars, the correct current carrying capacity (wire gauge) is an absolute necessity. And like most vintage VW restorers, we know that only "correct" will do when it comes to restoration materials.

About the Brake light switch harness (and other things we need to know to supply you a correct kit....):

VW used two different brake light switch routing schemes on early Beetles. They are shown below. This is relevant because two lengths of brake light switch harnesses are used and supply a kit correct for your car, we need to know what kind of brake light switch harness you need; LONG or SHORT.

A recent informal survey of eighteen '50 to '52 Beetles revealed that 3 of those had the small hole under the fuse box and would have used the SHORT harness for the brake light switch.

So refer the details and pictures below to determine what is correct for your Beetle, and specify LONG or SHORT when ordering a kit. There is no additional charge for either one, we will supply whatever you specify.

The LONG brake light switch was used on cars that did not have the hole described above. In this case, the brake light switch harness went down into the spare tire well, along the left rear corner, and exited to toward the rear of the car via the leftmost wire retaining tab hole. The cars horn wiring may have also gone out of this hole on Deluxe models ('49 and later) with the horn under the fender.

The LONG harness is 1150mm long. Our research shows that most early Beetles used this harness.

When ordering a harness kit, please specify if you need the door switch harness or not. Most '51 and later deluxe Beetles had the door switches in them, but most standards did not. Some '50 deluxes and Cabriolets did have them. So please specify.

We offer optional dual and triple conductor taillight wires that you may want if you plan to run dual filament bulbs or not. Be advised that they are slightly visibly thicker than the singe conductor (especially the triple conductor ones), and the single conductor ones are original and correct.

So we need to know:

• What Brake light harness you need, specify LONG or SHORT (no difference in pricing)
• If you will need a DOOR SWITCH HARNESS (see pricing below)
• What kind of TAILLIGHT WIRES you want to be included (single conductor are included, extra charge for double or triple conductor, see below)

Complete Kits

1951/52 Complete Kit

Sedan or Sunroof $675

Cabriolet $725
Hebmuller $725

Same as '50 kit but with door switch harness, not shown in linked picture. This kit available in either cloth or PVC covered wire. Please specify when ordering.

 

Includes:  Main Harness Upper Front Harness Lower Front Harness Horn Harness  Brake Light Switch Harness Semaphore Harness Door Switch Harness Pope's Nose Harness Taillight harness Loose wire kit Battery power cable Through Panel Grommets '50/'51 Wiring Diagram and legend

1950 Complete Kit

Sedan or Sunroof $650

 

Includes:  Main Harness Upper Front Harness Lower Front Harness Horn Harness  Brake Light Switch Harness Semaphore Harness Pope's Nose Harness Taillight harness Loose wire kit Battery power cable Through Panel Grommets '50/'51 Wiring Diagram and legend

 

Main Harness, Sedan, Sunroof	$295
Main Harness, Cabriolet	$335
Main Harness, Hebmuller	$335
Upper Front Harness	$129
Lower Front Harness	$89
Horn Harness	$15
Brake Light Switch Harness	$15
Semaphore Harness (sedan and sunroof only)	$69
Door Switch Harness (1951 Beetles)	$29
Pope's Nose Harness	$18
Taillight harness (single conductor)	$43
Loose wire kit	$20

Cloth or PVC loom, what is correct for my car?  This is an often asked question, and like may early VW manufacturing details, it is one without a real clear answer.  We are talking about the loom over the wiring harness here now, not the insulation on the individual wires themselves.

What is clear is that both cloth and PVC looms were used in the early cars, with the cloth loom being most common.  We have studied late '51 harnesses with PVC wires and cloth looms, and 1950 harnesses with cloth wires and PVC looms.  Additionally, in the same car, some harnesses had cloth looms while others had PVC.  It is well known that in the late 40s and early 50s, Volkswagen was struggling to keep up with demand for their cars, and multiple suppliers and designs were often used, in the same production year.  Given this, we have opted to produce "cloth on cloth", and PVC wire in cloth harnesses at this time as we know that they were used on some early splits, and most people doing vintage restorations seem to prefer the look of the cloth wiring loom.  We do know that prior to early 1951, all wiring was cloth insulated on VWs.

We can produce cloth loomed, PVC wire harnesses for the late '51 and early '52 cars.  E-mail us if you are interested in these.

Next to the main harness, this is the largest and most complex harness in the car.   It carries supply wires from the dash to the fuse box located up front on the forward, inner left quarter panel for the lights, horn, and wiper switch. It also has a "drop" that goes down through the trunk area floor to connect to the headlight dimmer switch mounted on the front firewall.

This harness is also machine loomed in black cotton.

The upper front harness is available separately for $129.
 

The brake light switch and horn harness are each simple 2 wire harnesses with their own cloth braiding over them. They connect to a 3 position terminal block just below the forward fuse box, and to the fuse box itself, and feed power to the horn and a current path to the brake light switch.

Options:  You may wish to have us solder a set of 1/4" female push on connectors to the end of the brake light switch harness.  Yes, the original brake light switch had screw terminals, but brake light switches don't last long in early VWs, largely because they weren't designed to handle today's DOT3 and DOT5 brake fluids.  Screw terminal brake light switches cost around $25 each if you can find them, but spade terminal switches can be found easily for $3-$4.  If you will drive your early Beetle often and need to rely on operating brake lights, you may wish to "convert" to a lower cost, common spade terminal switch.  This low cost harness option provides the connectors needed for this type of switch with PVC protective boots over them.  See the options list in the pricing table above for the price of this option.

The brake light switch and horn harnesses are available separately for $15each.

The "Pope's Nose" harness is another simple 2 wire harness that goes from the engine bay fuse box, to the Pope's Nose on the decklid.  It supplies power for the license light as well as the brake light
 

The Pope's Nose harness is available separately for $18.

There are a number of "loose", unloomed wires in an early split Beetle, and our "Loose Wire" kit includes these.  The following wires make up this kit:

• Wiper motor wire.  A short black/purple 18 gauge wire, 300mm long.

• Horn button wire.  This wire "lives" inside the steering shaft and connects the horn button with the copper commutator on the shaft.  You will have to remove your steering shaft to replace this wire.  Black, 14 gauge, 370mm.

• Clock pod illumination light wire.  This wire goes from the headlight switch to the light in the clock.  Black, 18 gauge, 350mm.

• Distributor wire. This one goes between the coil and the distributor in the engine bay. It has an M4 eyelet on both ends.  Black, 14gauge, 250mm.

 

 

Note: The following 3 wires are crimped to non-removable, riveted eyelets on the speedometer pod at at least one end.  Replacing these wires is difficult.  The original eyelets are brittle and cannot be easily opened up and  re-crimped and they very often will break off flush where they are riveted to the pod terminals.  But we do supply these wires with the Loose Wire kit.  Zarwerks does do the very finest speedometer pod restorations in the VW hobby, and we can repair broken crimps with exact duplicates and re-fasten them to the terminal blocks perfectly if you wish.  This is a difficult process has taken years to perfect and replacement of these wires is included with standard pod restoration services.  We do not recommend attempting this at home.

• Generator and Oil warning light power feed.  This wire goes from a riveted eyelet between the generator and oil warning lights to a riveted eyelet on the ignition switch.  Black, 18 gauge, 290mm

• Speedometer Illumination Light.  This wire goes from a riveted eyelet on the headlight switch, to the speedometer illumination bulb.  Black, 18 gauge, 165mm

• Starter button power feed.  This wire goes from a riveted eyelet on the headlight switch, to the starter button.  Red, 12 gauge, 115mm (not shown in picture).

An integral part of the Beetle's wiring are the cables that deliver power to and from the battery.  We are able to supply these.

Our battery power cables are the correct 4 gauge red wire, covered in cloth, of course.  They are 1 meter in length and are terminated with a an M8 spade lug on one end, and a side exit battery post terminal on the other.

Our battery ground straps are the correct flat copper braided kind with an M8 hole on one end and a battery post terminal on the other.

We also supply the transmission ground strap.  This one is often over looked.  Keep in mind that the engine and transmission are electrically isolated from the chassis by the rubber mounts that they rest one.  The transmission ground strap provides a solid ground path connection for the engine ignition system and more importantly, the high current starter.
 

Battery power cables are available separately for $24.

Battery ground straps are available separately for $20.

Transmission ground straps are available separately for $13.