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devesvws
Samba Member
Joined: January 05, 2004
Posts: 1540
Location: madison va
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pushkick
Samba Member
Joined: August 09, 2007
Posts: 1366
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 Posted: Sat May 18, 2013 8:55 am Post subject: coil melting |
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could be from shorted winding internally, which was a result of insulation brakedown or faulty insulation. heat can change insulator properties, high current, etc. since they dont fuse the coil or protect it thermally it will just heat up till it burns itself to an open circuit. this could damage your ecu since it is switched on and off with the ecu.
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i see said the blind man to his deaf dog
i am going to quit smoking and drinking and die a healthy man. gotta laugh
there is no deed to the planet earth
1990 vw automatic camper |
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Californio
Samba Member
Joined: May 17, 2007
Posts: 1306
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| Posted: Sat May 18, 2013 8:56 am Post subject: |
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| I've never seen anything like that either. First thing that comes to mind is a short, but then it seems a wire would melt even if unfused before doing that kind of damage. Weird. |
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devesvws
Samba Member
Joined: January 05, 2004
Posts: 1540
Location: madison va
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Zeitgeist 13
Samba Member
Joined: March 05, 2009
Posts: 12115
Location: Port Manteau
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| Posted: Sat May 18, 2013 9:07 am Post subject: |
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The only time a WBX has ever failed to start for me was when my old '88 GL had a coil that did pretty much the same thing. A new coil resolved the issue, so I assume the problem was internal
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Casey--
'89 Bluestar ALH w/12mm Waldo pump, PP764 and GT2052
'01 Weekender --> full camper
y u rune klassik? |
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xoo00oox
Samba Member
Joined: February 11, 2010
Posts: 2672
Location: East Nassau, NY
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| Posted: Sat May 18, 2013 9:41 am Post subject: |
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| make sure your alternator is not over charging. The only time I have seen a coil melt was when a 6V one was used with 12V. |
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peaceful warrior
Samba Member
Joined: January 22, 2005
Posts: 5274
Location: Taoswest, USA
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| Posted: Sat May 18, 2013 10:14 am Post subject: |
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Just out of curiosity, check to see that all four plugs are snugged up. If one is loose, it could be arcing which might cause the coil to melt. I have only seen this happen once to a coil and the loose plug was the only thing I found.
Replaced the coil and it was fine thereafter.
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"Two things are infinite: The universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe." Albert Einstein
"Notchboy" says "Man up!"
"Tram" says " My bus is bigger than your bus."
66 13W Deluxe, 68 Westfalia, 87 Syncro.
TOOB Member #15
Brian |
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randywebb
Samba Member
Joined: February 15, 2005
Posts: 3815
Location: Greater Metropolitan Nimrod, Orygun
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| Posted: Sat May 18, 2013 11:42 am Post subject: |
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what brand?
hecho en mexico? hecho in Brazil? China?
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1986 2.1L Westy 2wd Auto Trans. |
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devesvws
Samba Member
Joined: January 05, 2004
Posts: 1540
Location: madison va
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Gauche1968
Samba Member
Joined: April 13, 2006
Posts: 1518
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| Posted: Fri Sep 18, 2015 1:18 pm Post subject: |
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Hmm, coil melted today while on the interstate. Heard a pop and the van died. Luckily, I was able to coast to the shoulder. The plastic cap on a brand new Bosch 0041 melted dripping molten plastic lava on the wiring harness below. Sticky situation. Could a shorted tach wire cause this?
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1984 Vanagon GL
1984 Vanagon Westy |
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quickjetta2
Samba Member
Joined: September 18, 2005
Posts: 20
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| Posted: Fri Sep 18, 2015 9:56 pm Post subject: |
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| Happens all the time, thats how those old coils fail just replace it with a new factory one and go another 25 years! |
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tjet 
Samba Member
Joined: June 10, 2014
Posts: 3533
Location: CA & NM
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| Posted: Fri Sep 18, 2015 11:37 pm Post subject: |
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I've seen a melted coil & cap on a GM HEI distributor
A coil can fail when worked too hard, like high resistance in the plug wires or a disconnected plug wire, or too big of gap at the plugs.
Are the factory coils oil or epoxy filled? |
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Terry Kay
Banned
Joined: June 22, 2003
Posts: 13331
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| Posted: Sat Sep 19, 2015 12:51 pm Post subject: |
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Usually oil.
If the oil goes away, the coil overheats and then it's all done.
The coil in the picture really got hot--I would suspect an internal short on that unit.
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T.K. |
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tjet
Samba Member
Joined: June 10, 2014
Posts: 3533
Location: CA & NM
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| Posted: Sat Sep 19, 2015 1:32 pm Post subject: |
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| I've read that it's a no-no to lay an oil filled coil on it's side, but that's how they are installed from the factory. Hmm |
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tlbranth
Samba Member
Joined: May 24, 2014
Posts: 209
Location: Carnation, Wa
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| Posted: Sat Sep 19, 2015 6:33 pm Post subject: |
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You say it still won't run right. I'm wondering if the primary circuit is shorted which would run continuous current through the coil and might upset it especially if your voltage regulator is chucking out too high a voltage. I'm assuming you have points and distributor. If not, disregard.
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Terry
1991 Westfailure. 2004 Forester 2.5 engine. 4speed Standard transmission. |
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djkeev
Samba Moderator
Joined: September 30, 2007
Posts: 32625
Location: Reading Pennsylvania
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Terry Kay
Banned
Joined: June 22, 2003
Posts: 13331
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| Posted: Sat Sep 19, 2015 9:13 pm Post subject: |
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Time to start dragging a trailer behind you to carry that Pink Pony, plus all of the parts along with you Dave.
That rack --the big tongue waving out front, aint gonna hold it all--
You'll be scooping up asphalt with that end loader up front. 
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vanagonjr
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Joined: October 07, 2010
Posts: 3431
Location: Dartmouth, Mass.
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Gauche1968
Samba Member
Joined: April 13, 2006
Posts: 1518
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| Posted: Tue Sep 22, 2015 2:18 pm Post subject: |
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Here are photos of my melted coil. A new coil and some wiring repairs later, the van is back on the road, but darn it if the hazard lights and radio don't work now. 
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1984 Vanagon GL
1984 Vanagon Westy |
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kman88
Samba Member
Joined: September 24, 2009
Posts: 5
Location: Upstate NY
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| Posted: Wed Sep 23, 2015 1:09 pm Post subject: |
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| This happened to me once. Same exact thing. However, I was in stop and go traffic for about 18 hours heading into the IT Phish festival in northern Maine. Funny thing is, I made it to the festival camp ground and it wasn't until I tried to re-position my van the next day that I discovered the coil ... because the van would not start. |
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i have never seen this before its as if it got hot and started to bulge and flow like lava making a mess, not sure when it took place. been trying to get it to run right after doing the left head gasket and searching found the coil melted. replaced the coil with a good used one and it still wont run right.
