[Vwdiesel] WEIRD "GROUNDS" 86 GOLF

[Smith, Michael]

Well I tossed a 2m rig (for you non-hams on the list, this is a two-way
radio) in the Golf last night; got it all wired up to what I thought was the
correct way but as soon as I turn on the lights, the 2m rig went out.  All I
did was parallel up to the lighter socket, which is wacky.  As soon as the
headlights come on, the wire which I believe is/was the ground diconnects
from ground and goes open.

So...I say to myself...no sweat, I'll just run a wire stright to the
body/chassis somewhere.  No problem. I open up the little flap next to the
stick shift and find what I think is solid metal just next to the screw
which holds the console in place.  I put my ground to my radio there, but
still no dice !  Are there no grounds on this car, or is "ground" isolated
or what?  The parcel tray screws are not grounded either. SIGH!

I ended up yanking the stereo (as it's not yet attached) and splicing into a
miniscule ground wire there to get ground for my 2m rig (which is just above
it on the dash.) which isn't the best idea, as the radio draws 12A on
transmit....

Anyhow.....I haven't even looked in the Bentley or had too much time to play
around with my ohmmeter, as my 4 yr old is very "hands-on" and picks up any
tools that I pick up and use it.  Like wresting an octopus when I am working
on my car ! heheheheh

Got over a foot of heavy blowing snow last night and I snowblowed for nearly
2 hours today just to get out of the driveway.  Another hour tonight should
do it.
Drifts 3-4' high in spots, so dense you can walk on them.  The ol'
snowblower took a beating this morning.  Golf is tucked away inside the
garage.

What am I missing?