Car drives fine and suddenly stalls now it won't start.

i_dunno_09

My dad was driving the beetle last November and I got a phone call to go pick him up. He said that it just stopped like he ran out of gas and that it was running just fine before it stopped. I checked the gas and that was fine so we got a tow truck to tow it home and its sat in our garage until now and I want to get her up and running again. I would tried to fix it during the winter and spring but i was just too busy and the weather was to cold to work outside and my garage is far too small. But I am able to dedicate some time to it now and i want to know what could cause it to die like that. The engine still cranks fine when I turn the key it just seems to me like its not getting any gas. The biggest mystery to me is how it just died with no warning. If anyone has any suggestions on what it may possibly be please let me know or Im gonna spend a lot of time running different tests. thanks
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1975 Gold Super Beetle!

Banzai KG · Posted: Wed Jul 18, 2007 12:42 pm Post subject:

Check the thick black wire to the 15 (+) side of the coil, it may have vibrated off the connector. I have seen loose connectors which will eventually vibrate off the connector on the coil and wouldn't provide spark to the coil/sparkplugs.
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1964 Karmann Ghia coupe
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i_dunno_09 · Posted: Wed Jul 18, 2007 6:41 pm Post subject:

The wire connection mentioned is fine, and I took a closer look at it today and i think I discovered that the engine is getting gas but no spark. I have checked the fuel pump/filter and both are working, the coil works. I had problem with the dizzy last summer and the mechanic fixed it but i think they may be back. The only problem is I don't know exactly what the problem was.
_________________
1975 Gold Super Beetle!

wcfvw69 · Posted: Wed Jul 18, 2007 7:49 pm Post subject:

Cusser · Posted: Wed Jul 18, 2007 8:02 pm Post subject:

I'm with wcfvw69; check/adjust the point gap, then check the timing. i've seen many forget to put a tiny amount of grease on the distributor cam/plastic rubbing block, so it wears down and then points don't open.
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i_dunno_09 · Posted: Wed Jul 18, 2007 8:11 pm Post subject:

My mechanic did this last summer about 3 months before it died, but if you think thats what it is i will try and do it myself. I have never done the timing of the points
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1975 Gold Super Beetle!

ramblinrose · Posted: Wed Jul 18, 2007 8:17 pm Post subject:

Mine did that also....the wire had come off the coil.
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"Hell Hath No Fury Like A Woman Scorned"

execk2 · Posted: Thu Jul 19, 2007 5:06 am Post subject:

I know you checked the coil wires. But I had the same thing as well. Was driving between Montreal and Quebec City and car died on the highway. Went to get gas (thought surely that was it), so walked for 30 minutes up an exit. Came back, fueled up. Same thing.... looked closer at the engine and a wire bent just enough (green one) off the coil. Fixed it and ZOOM, like nothing happened....
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Cusser · Posted: Thu Jul 19, 2007 12:27 pm Post subject:

I've also had coil wire jump spark over, have helper check while cranking.
_________________
1970 VW (owned since 1972) and 1971 VW Convertible (owned since 1976), second owner of each. The '71 now has the 1835 engine, swapped from the '70. Second owner of each. 1988 Mazda B2200 truck, 1998 Frontier, 2014 Yukon, 2004 Frontier King Cab. All manual transmission except for the Yukon. http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=335294 http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=335297

i_dunno_09 · Posted: Thu Jul 19, 2007 12:32 pm Post subject:

could this wire still be the problem if I tested the coil by putting a jumper from negative to ground and put a test light on the positive side to ground and the light lit up when the key was in the on position. Wouldn't this mean that the connections to my coil as well as the coil itself are working?
_________________
1975 Gold Super Beetle!

Banzai KG · Posted: Thu Jul 19, 2007 12:38 pm Post subject:

Why Won't My Engine Start ? - http://www.nls.net/mp/volks/htm/eng_strt.htm
_________________
Jim Kikuchi
Sunnyvale (near San Jose), CA
1964 Karmann Ghia coupe
V.V.W.C.A. - Golden Gate Chapter: http://www.ggcvvwca.org/
B.L.T.N. (Better Late Than Never) late model VW Club (San Jose/Santa Clara, CA): https://www.facebook.com/groups/bltnvw/
NorCal Aircooled Group (NAG) Facebook Goup: https://www.facebook.com/groups/NAGVW/

i_dunno_09 · Posted: Thu Jul 19, 2007 2:02 pm Post subject:

I've searched for a long time and have not found any loose wires or sparking, all my fuses are good, the timing in my points seems good and everything seems like it should work it just doesn't seem to get a spark and i can't figure out how this could just happen while driving with no signs of anything going wrong. I appreciate the link to "My Engine Won't Start" but i do not think any of my problems could be on that sight as like i said it was running fine than just died with no warning and will now not start.
_________________
1975 Gold Super Beetle!

wcfvw69 · Posted: Thu Jul 19, 2007 8:22 pm Post subject:

Un-screw a spark plug. Hook the spark plug wire up to it. Have someone turn the engine over while you ground the metal side of the plug against a bolt on the engine. Is it sparking?
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i_dunno_09 · Posted: Thu Jul 19, 2007 8:49 pm Post subject:

DMC-12 · Posted: Fri Jul 20, 2007 4:28 am Post subject:

I know you've checked to make sure the wires are correctly attached to the coil but have you actually put a volt meter on them to make sure power is getting to the coil? Check the following:

1. Buy/borrow a cheap volt/ohm meter. Turn the key to "run" and make sure that the supply wire has 12 volts or more on it.

2. The coil itself could be faulty.

3. The primary coil wire that goes to the distributor could be loose/faulty.

4. Faulty distributor (drive gear). Pop the cap off and make sure that the rotor actually spins when cranking the engine. Observe your new points and note whether or not they actually open and close while cranking.

The point is, if you have no spark on any cylinder, then you have to find the "common point of failure". You can test the primary coil wire with the ohm meter. Typical store-bought spark plug wires are something like 1500 ohms per foot. The wire is less than a foot long so you should measure 1000 ohms (1 kohm) or so. If it reads "infinite" then it is "open" or in other words, broken. Hi-po wires often read as little as 600 ohms/ft.

Try that and tell us what's up.

Jeckler · Posted: Fri Jul 20, 2007 10:59 am Post subject:

i_dunno_09 · Posted: Fri Jul 20, 2007 11:57 am Post subject:

I have just finished doing the tests recommended by Jeckler, Thanks for those, and i am relieved to say that the first one failed. I am assuming this means that my coil is busted and I need a new one? The only thing I find strange about this is that i don't see how the coil could just go while driving normally. Is that possible?

BTW the points were opening and closing fine and it passed the second test.

PS will any 12V coil work for a replacement?
_________________
1975 Gold Super Beetle!

Banzai KG · Posted: Fri Jul 20, 2007 3:47 pm Post subject:


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