HELP!!!!! Wont start

[Dezrtracer32]

I have a 69 with a 1600. I am getting fuel to the carb but not getting spark. I have replaced the coil,plugs,wires,cap,rotor,condenser and am getting 12v all the way from key to cool but the car wont fire. Does the coil need the external resistor to work right? The engine is timed and everything I can think of has been gaped/adjusted. Any input would be great! Thanks in advance

[Pruneman99]

Did you set your point gap?

[Dezrtracer32]

Yes I set it to the .016 is that right?

[vwoldbug]

Did you make sure the distributor is seated all the way and rotor is spinning .

[Cusser]

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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

[Pruneman99]

[Dezrtracer32]

So judging by that schematic I'm missing the wiring going to the carb and transmission switch and lights. Will that really cause it not to start?

[Tim Donahoe]

If you have no wire going from #15 side of the coil to the electromagnetic cut-off switch (the solenoid in the diagram above) at the carburetor, then your solenoid will not open, allowing fuel to your carburetor.

Install a wire with female connections from the #15 male connection at the coil to your solenoid on your carburetor.

While you’re at it, you might want to pigtail this wire to your automatic choke—as shown in the diagram.

Tim
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Let's do the Time Warp again!

Richard O'Brien

[Dezrtracer32]

I will run that and see what happens. Thank you for the info everyone Updates will be posted for anyone interested

[David_nc_72std]

If possible, post a picture of the engine, someone may be able to spot an obvious problem.

Was the engine running previously, and then suddenly would not start, or have you never had it running? If it was running previously, did you do any work on the car, even if it seems unrelated to the engine.

Does the engine crank and never fire, or does it try to run and quit after a few seconds?

You stated that the engine was timed, how did you time it?

How did you check for spark?

Cusser posted a picture of the distributor/spark plug wiring earlier, don't follow that diagram blindly, not all distributors have the #1 terminal in the same position, and sometimes the distributor drive gear gets installed in the wrong position. You have to turn the crankshaft to TDC and verify you are on the compression stroke of the #1 cylinder to know for sure where the #1 spark plug wire goes.

There should be only one wire connected to the #1 terminal of the coil, the wire from the condenser on the distributor - if anything else is connected to that terminal it will keep the ignition from working (unless you have a tachometer, if so disconnect that until you get the engine running, just to eliminate it as a possibility).

A couple of things to check that rarely go wrong, some distributors have a short wire connecting the points plate inside the distributor to the distributor body, that can break and prevent the points from getting a good ground. Also, if you have had the battery disconnected, make sure you didn't reconnect it with the terminals reversed, the (-) terminal goes to the chassis ground. This is an easy mistake to make if you are borrowing a battery from another car, because some batteries are build with the terminals "reversed" and its easy to just connect it without paying attention to the polarity.

[ashman40]

Put your voltmeter on the ignition coil #15 (+) terminal and monitor the voltage WHILE you crank the engine. Often you will find 12v while the ignition is ON but the starter is not cranking. But when you turn the key to start the starter draws so much current off the battery that the voltage that makes it to the ignition coil drops below the minimum. So you can pass all tests you conduct while the engine is OFF, but the voltages tests will fail WHILE the engine is cranking.

Related to this you may find that the ignition switch has failed. The internal contacts work in the ON/RUN position but the ignition switch stops passing current to the ignition coil when the key is in the START position.
For '71-later Beetles you sometimes see the PO has mistakenly wired the black/yellow (#X) wire in place of the black (#15) wire. Unfortunately, the black/yellow wire does NOT provide 12v when the ignition switch is in the ON position so it is not suitable for use with the ignition coil.
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AshMan40
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'67 Beetle #1 {project car that never made it to the road }
'75 Beetle 1200LS (RHD Japan model) {junked due to frame rot}
'67 Beetle #2 {2019 project car - Wish me luck!}

[VW_Jimbo]

I read that you adjusted the points. I am hoping you set them while the rubbing block was on a lobe! Because if you set them when it was not, you would never get spark! Just checking that you did it correctly.
_________________
Jimbo

There is never enough time to do it right the first time, but all the time necessary the second time!

[Dezrtracer32]

Just an update. I'm getting 28 ohms on coil. So I'm assuming it's a bad coil

[Dezrtracer32]

Yes I adjusted the points on the lobe. And did the timing with a test light. I have gotten the car to backfire. But as soon as i got that the battery died... so hopefully tomorrow i can get it to kick on

[67rustavenger]

Backfire?
Check your firing order. It should not do that if set correctly. 1-4-3-2.

Good Luck.
_________________
I have learned over the years.
Cheap parts are gonna disappoint you.
Buy Once, Cry Once!

There's never enough time to do it right the first time. But there's always enough time to do it thrice.
GFY's Xevin and VW_Jimbo!

[ashman40]

Maybe it is time to start from scratch. Read Speedy Jim’s page on no start and run thru all the steps.
http://www.speedyjim.net/htm/eng_strt.htm
_________________
AshMan40
---------------------------
'67 Beetle #1 {project car that never made it to the road }
'75 Beetle 1200LS (RHD Japan model) {junked due to frame rot}
'67 Beetle #2 {2019 project car - Wish me luck!}

[Dezrtracer32]

She fired today! I charged the yellowtop and got it to fire 4 times. It wouldn't stay running without the throttle pressed. And now the car turns over very slow and wont start. So I'm thinking a fuel pump and q starter and I should be good. The car has plates that were registered in 94. So I'm sure sitting for that long and then starting wasn't very nice on it. Any other ideas of what could be the issue? Thanks in advance