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Wed Nov 12, 2008 11:24 pm

Hey guys. Heres the problem, after not driving for a few days my car will not start. Everything is going but it will not turn over and begin to run. I let it sit for a few hours and came back and for some reason, she fired right up.
I drove for a bit but while driving it began to run horribly. Instead of a smooth rwaaahhhhh untill i shifted, the sound was mre like, bababababababbaaa. I nursed it as much as I could then it stalled and I had to push it home because it wouldnt fire up again.
I changed the fuel filter and nothing happened. It runs smooth for a few minutes but then it get sputtery and wont go faster than 30 mph
I readjusted the valves about a month ago and did a complete tune up.

Edit: Went out in the dark to check up on the car and I noticed there was a electricity arcing from one side of the coil to the other? Is this normal?

Heres the video dont mind the sound, stingers loud and my mic sucks: http://s35.photobucket.com/albums/d187/pbajwabb/?action=view&current=1112081645.flv

Wed Nov 12, 2008 11:35 pm

That doesn't sound normal to me...

Wed Nov 12, 2008 11:55 pm

Audio quality in the video might just be bad, but if it's arcing over at the coil, something is not right. Have you changed the wire that comes out from the middle post to the dizzy? The jacket around the post might be worn. Or the post itself might have arced over and is now bad, this would mean u need a new coil.

The car will not run properly with the loss of spark.

Thu Nov 13, 2008 10:00 am

Keep it all in one thread.
Do not start a second thread for the same problem.

Thu Nov 13, 2008 11:29 am

Alright, so im under the impression that I need a new coil, new wire from the dizzy to the coil, and i need to move the fuel filter. I live 30 minutes from the closest bug store so I wanna get it all in one trip. Anything else you guys think I should pick up?

Thu Nov 13, 2008 11:56 am

Coil, plug wires and fuel filter dont need to come from a specialty shop. Any parts store can sell decent parts like that.

Thu Nov 13, 2008 12:00 pm

Yes, the spark jumping is not good, and not that uncommon. You may just have dirt on that part of the coil, and/or bad rubber seal cap on the center wire. So maybe cleaning that and replacing the rubber seal on the wire would help.

Running engine in the dark and looking for spark jumping near the coil or spark plug wires is a good test to do. Sometimes a light water mist will help with this as well.

Thu Nov 13, 2008 12:08 pm

fastinradford wrote: Coil, plug wires and fuel filter dont need to come from a specialty shop. Any parts store can sell decent parts like that.

The nearest parts place other than the VW one is 20 minutes away, I just dont want to be driving all over town, gas is expensive when im not driving my bug haha

Thu Nov 13, 2008 12:09 pm

Cusser wrote: Yes, the spark jumping is not good, and not that uncommon. You may just have dirt on that part of the coil, and/or bad rubber seal cap on the center wire. So maybe cleaning that and replacing the rubber seal on the wire would help.

Running engine in the dark and looking for spark jumping near the coil or spark plug wires is a good test to do. Sometimes a light water mist will help with this as well.

the rubber seal looked fine and u tightened it up, Ill go outside and clean up the coil. Anyways, even if the coil was working, would it sparking make the car run bad?

Thu Nov 20, 2008 3:13 pm

Alright so I went out during the day when I had good light and found the problem. The thick rubber wire from the dizzy to the coil was eroded away. The metal piece inside the wire that connects to the coil was melted off and was stuck onto the coil. I went out, bought a new coil and wire and now the car runs.