Hard Start Relays

All Vanagon's will benefit from the installation of a hard start relay. The electrical portion of the ignition switch is comprised of multiple small contacts contained in a plastic housing.  Over time, the current traveling thru the ignition switch to the starter solenoid can cause excessive heat that melts the plastic switch housing and allows the contacts get misaligned.  This ultimately leads to an ignition switch that fails to make proper contact, leading to a van that refuses to start consistently as well as the possibility of other issues like non-operational headlights, front defroster fan and windshield wipers.

After installing a hard start relay, the ignition switch is only used to trigger the relay.  This reduces the electrical load to less than 1 Amp and allows the ignition switch to run cooler and last longer.  As an added benefit, the hard start relay pulls its power directly from the heavy battery cable running to the starter, so the starter solenoid gets way more juice.

I no longer offer the hard start relay kits, but my friend Chris @ UniWerks Design can set you up with one made to the exact same specs:  https://www.uniwerksdesign.com/vw-vanagon/vanagon-electrical/