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Thu Mar 01, 2007 9:10 pm

the ignishion went out, (pertronix ignitor II) so i bought a compufire today.. all brand new, and it still wont spark. whats wrong? could the coil be bad? it has power...

Thu Mar 01, 2007 9:58 pm

just start at the spark plugs and work your way bck thgought he system untill you find power. If there is power on one side and not the other then that unit is either bad of hooked up wrong.

Thu Mar 01, 2007 10:03 pm

the whole electronic ignition orjust the magnetic points? becuase if you put the wires on the wrong side of the coil then you fried it.

Thu Mar 01, 2007 11:08 pm

maybe the first EI wasnt bad maybe it was something else in the system since the new one doesnt work too. odds are quite slim that you bought a faulty compufire so i would break out a volt meter and do like dr. awsome said and go through the electrical and look for a fault and check all the grounds. wires get old, stuff gets old it happens.

Thu Mar 01, 2007 11:35 pm

Maybe understanding how both systems work would be the best place to start. Here is what I know that works. Hook the test light to either power or ground. Then probe the - side of the coil spin it over and see if the test light blinks. If it blinks then it is past the dist meaning coil cap rotor wires plugs in that order. I start in the middle from experience.

Thu Mar 01, 2007 11:52 pm

so what is everything i can check.. the coil, the new EI... the wires running to the ignish, where the key goes..

i hear that when the EI goes out, sometimes the coil goes out with it.

Fri Mar 02, 2007 7:15 am

David is right,start at the coil.There should be 12 volts on the pos and neg side.If you have 12 volts at positive then everything back to the battery is good.If there is no power on the neg side then the coil has an open circuit.Make sure you didn't hook the ignitor up backwards or you can fry it.Worst case,but a $5.00 set pf points and throw them in and see if it starts.If not then it probably needs a coil.What kind of coil do you have now??If not a bosch Blue coil then i'd buy a new coil anyway.

Fri Mar 02, 2007 10:13 am

Sound advice from all above...

I'd suspect the coil first... Disconnect the electronic ignition module (both the hot and ground leads). Double check that you have 12V at the terminal's negative lead. If you don't it's dead.

You can also check the output side of the coil by very quickly brushing a spare piece of wire across the negative terminal while holding the other end to ground, simulating the close/open cycle of the points. You should get a spark from the coil output wire to ground -- lay the coil wire 1/4" away from any grounded piece of metal... --Be sure the ignition module is completely disconnected from the coil first...

I'm assuming the car is 12 Negative ground...

If the coil experiences a dead-short from the points for a long time, it can overheat and eventually burn out. I've seen this when people run their stereos without the engine running... Since the original beetle doesn't have an accessory switch, you end up leaving the ignition on to run the stereo... Personally, I'd install a separate power switch for the stereo as the electronic ignition modules should not be left on for extended periods without the engine running...

Good Luck!

Sat Mar 03, 2007 3:05 am

i think i found the problem...

im pretty sure it was the coil.. the wire that goes to the key was switched to the negative on the coil.. someone was fucking with my car, and wanted me to have a great day.. probably the same people that stole my tools and tach out of my car..

so i now have a new EI, and bought a new coil, hooked it up the same way, fried that one, so now i have to go buy ANOTHER one tomorrow. haha.

Sat Mar 03, 2007 4:43 pm

Have you checked to see if the Ignitor II still works? It should automatically shut itself off if wired backwards and save itself from harm (which the Ignitor I does not do). If you wire it the right way, it should work again.

Sun Mar 04, 2007 1:41 am

I DID NOT KNOW THAT. ILL KEEP THAT IN MIND.

I WENT AND BOUGHT ANOTHER NEW COIL TONIGHT.. YET.. I HAVE NO SPARK STILL.

I DONT KNOW WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG. THE BATTERY HAS FULL POWER..

I HAVE A BRAND NEW COIL, AND ELECTRONIC IGNISHION...

I JUST DONT KNOW WHY IT STILL DOES NOT HAVE ANY SPARK.

THE WIRE THAT GOES TO THE KEY IS STILL HOOKED UP RIGHT. IT DIDNT FRY..

ANYONE KNOW WHAT MIGHT BE CAUSING THIS?

ILL TRY TO START FROM ONE END TO THE OTHER..

Sun Mar 04, 2007 2:44 am

might be the distributor. forget the spark plug wires since there is no spark at all- either the distributor isnt distributing spark to the spark-plugs or the distributor isnt getting spark from the coil as in the coil isnt getting 12 volts since its a new coil. volt meter to see if the coil is getting 12v, if it is then you know its past the coil and probably the distributor or the wire going from the coil to the center of the distributor cap. another good thing about voltmeters is you can check wires to see if theres a break somewhere in the line. take off the distributor cap and take a look. a little moisture,dust,or corrosion might be enough to not fire. check all connections and tolerances(in the distributor) if needed and go from there. If everything checks out then pull out a spark plug and reconnect it to the spark plug wire, holding the wire have a friend crank it over and you should see or hear a spark on the plug. if its fireing you might want to look at the fuel system.

Sun Mar 04, 2007 8:31 am

when you say EI are you talking about the pointless ignition or are you frying the $260 compufire every time?

Sun Mar 04, 2007 7:00 pm

EI. as in, electronic ignish.

are distributors known to go bad? cause i have a BRAND new compufire in there, and a BRAND new bosh blue coil..

the coil has power.. not sure how much, ill check. does the coil need a full 12 volts to sent enough power to the distributor in order for it to have spark?

i went and checked every wire in the car.. ever single wire period..
all the wires in the ignish are good.. nothing is wrong with any of them.. as my eye can see.

so i have power to the coil and not to the distributor..

Sun Mar 04, 2007 7:27 pm

el loco kingo wrote: EI. as in, electronic ignish.

are distributors known to go bad? cause i have a BRAND new compufire in there, and a BRAND new bosh blue coil..

the coil has power.. not sure how much, ill check. does the coil need a full 12 volts to sent enough power to the distributor in order for it to have spark?

i went and checked every wire in the car.. ever single wire period..
all the wires in the ignish are good.. nothing is wrong with any of them.. as my eye can see.

so i have power to the coil and not to the distributor..

as in compufire what! are you running the pointless ignition or the EI compu fire module?

this?

or this?

Sun Mar 04, 2007 7:54 pm

second one.

Sun Mar 04, 2007 11:11 pm

el loco kingo wrote: second one.

ok, from what i have seen and what i have heard they are super fickle and they like to fry. i saw a guy out side of a store fry one because he put the leads on the wrong side of the coil. he walked in and bought another one and dropped it. no joke the third one worked but if they get wet, if the coil went bad it could have fried it.

Mon Mar 05, 2007 10:50 pm

yeah man, im over pointless crap.

ill just keep spair points with me.

went to pacific customs and got me a new distributor, and it runs perfect!

so i guess buying a bunch of coils and pointless crap didnt help.

at least i have hundreds of dollers of spair parts now. haha.

Mon Mar 05, 2007 10:50 pm

yeah man, im over pointless crap.

ill just keep spair points with me.

went to pacific customs and got me a new distributor, and it runs perfect!

so i guess buying a bunch of coils and pointless crap didnt help.

at least i have hundreds of dollers of spair parts now. haha.

Tue Mar 06, 2007 2:19 am

Quote: pointless crap

No kidding. :x