Can I Fix the Trabant's Seat and Taillights?

The fastest test is to check for voltage between GND on the socket plate and the Chassis GND. If you have any you have a bad GND.

GrayRaceCat

I saw that & you may be right. ( 37 years in auto repair & I know NOTHING about the 'Trabant'.) I'm not sure that's where the GND is. Since the housing is not metal I assumed there is a dedicated GND wire?

GrayRaceCat

Well if there's a bad rust spot there, that might do it.

Aaron Ries

I posted this to YouTube but I am an attention whore and I wanted you to see this. You could try and run a new wire just for the left turn signal. Since that turn signal is an isolated problem as soon as you disconnect the original turn signal wire under the dash, the strange cross-over interference (whateveryouwanttocallit) would also stop. Then just run a new wire and "Voilà!"; a working Trabant lamp cluster. You could try it without having to tear stuff apart by just running a cheap and dirty wire from under the dash outside to the trunk just to see if that changes anything before committing to a wiring overhaul.

Aaron Ries

If you can't get trabant seats, i wonder if Beetle seats will work. It would fit the style of the car if you went with 60s beetle seats, or be a bit of a safety upgrade if you swap in 70s high back ones. I was getting 1960s bug vibes with the seats as you took it out.

Stephen Greer

Welcome to another episode of "This old Trabant" LOL! Great free form video.

Tedd ILL

Dude- dust mask!

Kevin Campbell

Hi Robert! Is the seat replacement expensive enough so you would give a try to repair the broken one? Thanks!

Thanks for the interesting video. I would love to see you try to fix the seat. Fixing is so much more entertaining than bolting on new parts.

Hi Robert! I'm enjoying the videos immensely! I am fairly certain you have a GND issue at the left rear, as all of the lamps 'ramp-up' instead of just coming on at full intensity. The turn signal & parking lights are back feeding GND thru each other. Take another look at the video and you'll see. Also the 'birds nest' stuff I think is called 'Jute', it was the natural fiber of choice before dense foam rubber became popular. I've found plenty when working on pre '69 Volvos, etc.

GrayRaceCat

Thanks mate! He´s name was Shire, he was a breed between French Bulldog and mini pinscher. A real sweetie and we really had a tight bond the two of us.

I'm sorry to hear that. What was your dog's name?

Aging Wheels

I really was waiting for you to release a new vid. I needed that coz I´m in grief after my beloved dog left this world this tuesday. Thanks Robert!