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Wed Jan 27, 2010 4:10 pm

i recently purchased a mechanical advance dizzy for my 71. it has a red and black wire coming off of it. what is the correct way to wire the dizzy and coil?

Wed Jan 27, 2010 4:14 pm

Red to positive, black to negative.

Wed Jan 27, 2010 4:20 pm

what wires should be hooked up to each side of the coil besides the dizzy wire. on my 71 bus stock everything

Wed Jan 27, 2010 4:21 pm

What he said.... Red to the hot side of your coil, black to the other side of the coil..

Wed Jan 27, 2010 4:45 pm

VDubTech wrote: Red to positive, black to negative.

And this is what throws many off... the original VW wiring is a BLACK wire to the + side of the coil ( black is hot key on for the most part on these old car's wiring scheme which always messed with "american car mechanic's heads)

SO those who don't read the instructions with the distributor or electronic ignition module kit or don't get the instructions if they buy "used" often match the color of the wires up and BURN UP THEIR STUFF.

Wed Jan 27, 2010 4:50 pm

if you have a pertronix or similar points replacement (you do if you have re/black wires exiting the distributor) the red is terminal 15 of the coil (which is the + terminal), black is terminal 1 (-). the coil terminals should be marked with these designations.

Wed Jan 27, 2010 5:05 pm

keifernet wrote: VDubTech wrote: Red to positive, black to negative.

And this is what throws many off... the original VW wiring is a BLACK wire to the + side of the coil ( black is hot key on for the most part on these old car's wiring scheme which always messed with "american car mechanic's heads)

SO those who don't read the instructions with the distributor or electronic ignition module kit or don't get the instructions if they buy "used" often match the color of the wires up and BURN UP THEIR STUFF.

He's got a red wire and a black wire coming out of the distributor....he's got an electronic ignition.

Wed Jan 27, 2010 6:24 pm

VDubTech wrote: keifernet wrote: VDubTech wrote: Red to positive, black to negative.

And this is what throws many off... the original VW wiring is a BLACK wire to the + side of the coil ( black is hot key on for the most part on these old car's wiring scheme which always messed with "american car mechanic's heads)

SO those who don't read the instructions with the distributor or electronic ignition module kit or don't get the instructions if they buy "used" often match the color of the wires up and BURN UP THEIR STUFF.

He's got a red wire and a black wire coming out of the distributor....he's got an electronic ignition.

Yes I know... and that is what I am saying... You did tell him how to hook it up correctly but I was warning about some who just see the color wires on the coil and just plug like color wires on without checking.

He still will ( or should) have BLACK wire is HOT from IGNITION SWITCH to the POSITIVE side of the COIL.... get it? :P And of course with points and condenser there would be a green wire to the negative side of the coil...

When people don't pay attention and hook the BLACK wire from the electronic ignition to where they see the BLACK wire plugged in, and put the RED on the negative side and POOF the burn their shit up.

That's what I am trying to relate :lol: :wink:

Couple of pics I found in the gallery.

Wed Jan 27, 2010 9:50 pm

laroche21 wrote: what wires should be hooked up to each side of the coil besides the dizzy wire. on my 71 bus stock everything

To the + Pos side of the coil will be a single wire going to both the electric choke element and the solenoid on the carb. Or there might be a seperate wire going to each of those. Also to the Pos side is a black wire going to a inline fuse holder then going thru the engine compartment front bulkhead. That's for your back up lights and the wire goes to a switch on the trans.

Fri Jan 29, 2010 11:01 am

thanks all for help... i will post the outcome

Mon Feb 08, 2010 3:39 pm

so i have the wiring correct now and still no spark. i replaced the electronic ignition module with a new one from empi, due to the wiring backwards the first time. still no spark. the dizzy does spin when engine is turned over. the positive side of the coil also get power when ignition is switched on. any thoughts?

Mon Feb 08, 2010 4:54 pm

From a Compufire VW-1 instruction booklet.

TROUBLE SHOOTING
DO NOT check to see if system is firing by disconnecting a spark plug wire and holding it next to ground. The high voltage created by this procedure stresses the insulation at the coil AND IS DANGEROUS!

NO SPARK
?? Check to see that there is 12 volts present at the wire from the ignition switch (coil +) when the ignition switch is on.
?? Verify that the RED and BLACK wires to the coil are crimped properly and attached to the correct coil terminals (Fig.# 3).
?? With the ignition switch off, remove the distributor cap and check the air gap between the Compu-Fire module and rotor. The gap should be approximately .060". The gap must be between .030" and .100".

IGNITION MODULE TEST - Note: Do not turn the ignition switch on during this test and leave it on. Only turn it on long enough to observe the test light.

Disconnect the tach lead from the negative (-) coil terminal if applicable. Connect a 12V test light from the coil negative (-) terminal to engine ground. With the transmission in neutral and the emergency brake set turn the ignition switch on. The light should glow. If it does, the coil primary is OK and the ignition switch is wired properly. If it does not, move the test light to the coil positive (+) terminal. If it glows, the coil is defective. If it does not glow, check the wiring to the ignition switch etc.. With voltage on both sides of the coil with the ignition switch on reconnect the test light to the coil negative (-) terminal. Now crank the engine while observing the light. It should flash on and off as the engine rotates. If it flashes and there is still no spark at the plugs check the coil and plug
2 wires. If it does not flash and the trigger rotor is located properly the module could have been damaged by connecting the RED and BLACK wires improperly.

HTH

Wed Feb 10, 2010 10:29 am

okay, i have power to both sides of coil. when turned over the test light on negative side of coil only does a dim flickering. is that what is supposed to happen?

Wed Feb 10, 2010 12:45 pm

in addition to my last post, my buddy loaned me a vacum advance points style dizzy. the engine fired but backfired and died. i timed the vehicle according to a post on an older thread. my crankshaft pully has no tdc marks. if any one can provide me with a link of help on cylinder numbers and correct tdc location.

Wed Feb 10, 2010 2:09 pm

laroche21 wrote: in addition to my last post, my buddy loaned me a vacum advance points style dizzy. the engine fired but backfired and died. i timed the vehicle according to a post on an older thread. my crankshaft pully has no tdc marks. if any one can provide me with a link of help on cylinder numbers and correct tdc location.

You can't just "go back and forth" between vac advance and mechanical advance without checking and changing the orientation of the cap ( how it fits on the distrib body with the notch for the cap) and the wiring...

Sounds like the ol "90 degrees" out syndrome.

There are many threads on this here is a good one...

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=251672&highlight=degrees

Wed Feb 10, 2010 2:54 pm

Doesn't matter if your pulley has marks or not since you wouldn't know what the marks are. And particularly you wouldn't know with enough accuracy to do any timing. Read this topic http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=251672
particularly the last post. Don't waste time with the pencil in the #1 plug hole method. All that does is tell you if your are somewhere near TDC or at BDC.
What cylinders where? Your cylinder head tins have the cylinder numbers on them. Firing order? It is on the generator pedestal.

Wed Feb 10, 2010 4:07 pm

thanks to all for help. the bus runs like a champion!

Wed Feb 10, 2010 5:35 pm

laroche21 wrote: the bus runs like a champion!

Yay! Now set the timing properly.