Hot coil!

CVAMII · Posted: Sun Jun 02, 2013 9:21 am Post subject: Hot coil!

Hello..A year ago I purchased a 1963 beetle with a 71 1600cc dual port motor. I also have the book how to keep your Volkswagen alive. My issue is two things...first the Hot Coil..stays hot As long as the battery is connected and the other is engine runs but will not idle...so far I've replaced fuel filter,generator,regulator,plug wires,external oil sump,new plug wires,new front and rear drums and added ralley shocks...I also have new rocker arms ordered...can anyone give me some insite to my issues? I bought this car for my teenager but feel as if dad may have been bitten!

Danwvw · Posted: Sun Jun 02, 2013 9:51 am Post subject:

Your Ignition Coil is hot? Please explain. Are you saying the car will not turn off when you shut it off with the ignition key because there is still current on the 12 or perhaps it's a 6 volt coil may be why it gets hot.
1s the car 12 volts or 6 volts?
Could likely be that the reason for not idling is the 12 volts needed for the fuel shut off valve on the side of the carburetor is not present. Do you have a Volt Meter? DVM or some kind of test meter?
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1960 Beetle And 1679cc DP W-100 & Dual Zeniths!

CVAMII · Posted: Sun Jun 02, 2013 2:56 pm Post subject:

The bug has been converted over to 12v it appears....Bosch generator and regulator...the coil however jus seems to be really hot to the touch after just a few seconds of running the motor which doesn't idle...as for the meters I plan on getting a tech-dwell and compression tester tomorrow after work.

Danwvw · Posted: Sun Jun 02, 2013 5:28 pm Post subject:

Probably still has the 6 volt ignition coil in it. I would just order one of these coils, 12 volt Bosch Ignition Coil, and take some photos of the wiring on the carburetor etc. If there is no 12 volts to the shut-off they won't Idle!
_________________
1960 Beetle And 1679cc DP W-100 & Dual Zeniths!

CVAMII · Posted: Mon Jun 03, 2013 5:39 am Post subject:

Okay thanks...I'm gonna go shopping today...plus my new rocker arms came in so I will get back to you as soon as I do the work ...thank you.

Michael Fischer · Posted: Mon Jun 03, 2013 10:32 am Post subject:

Why don't you look on the coil and see if it says 12v on it somewhere? No reason to replace it if that is not the problem.

CVAMII · Posted: Mon Jun 03, 2013 10:52 am Post subject:

True...I've replaced just about everthing with Bosch but that so why not make it all...besides it looks old and I'll keep it for a back up...

CVAMII · Posted: Tue Jun 04, 2013 4:07 am Post subject:

Okay so I'm thinking something is wired wrong...I checked the coil it is 12 volt so I decided to run a test. I hooked the battery up..ran the motor for about 30 seconds or more. Next I shut the car off took the keys out of the ignition and left it sit for about two hours. When I returned to check the coil it was very hot to the touch. This is telling me there is constant juice flowing to the coil..?

dan macmillan · Posted: Tue Jun 04, 2013 4:18 am Post subject:

If power is still reaching the coil with the key out AND the points are closed then the coil will heat up. But if power is reaching the coil then how are you shutting the engine off? Using a simple test light check to see if you in fact have power to the coil with the key in the off position.

If someone wired it wrong in such a way that power is always present at the coil and thay are grounding the points wire {neg side of the coil} to shut the engine off then it would definitely heat up the coil.
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CVAMII · Posted: Tue Jun 04, 2013 5:50 am Post subject:

Okay so if my points in the distributor are touching or are dirty this could be the issue for a hot coil? I will check and clean the points this evening then..

Danwvw · Posted: Tue Jun 04, 2013 11:39 pm Post subject:

No something is wired wrong or your ignition switch is not shutting off, although it makes not sense that the car would shut off if the coil was still powered. Points are more likely to be closed than open when the engine stops it is normal for the coil to get hot if left with the key "on" because of this. The 12 volts to the coil should go off when the key is turned off regardless of anything going on with the points. (When you measure voltage with a voltmeter or test light measure from the 12 volt side of the coil primary to the engine somewhere ie.. ground.)
Found this from another Thread it has a nice diagram of the coil etc:

CVAMII · Posted: Sun Jun 16, 2013 4:26 am Post subject:

Okay so I just went and replaced the distributor with the electronic Bosch 009 distributor. I haven't had time to see if that fixed my problem yet cause I'm in the process of replacing the rocker arms..I found one with the stand cracked and broken....also discovered the cheaper Italian hub I bought has smaller lug holes plus my rear brake line is leaking or is busted....man this bug needs a lot of luv...

CVAMII · Posted: Sun Jun 16, 2013 4:27 am Post subject:

Okay so I just went and replaced the distributor with the electronic Bosch 009 distributor. I haven't had time to see if that fixed my problem yet cause I'm in the process of replacing the rocker arms..I found one with the stand cracked and broken....also discovered the cheaper Italian hub I bought has smaller lug holes plus my rear brake line is leaking or is busted....man this bug needs a lot of luv...

mongor · Posted: Tue Sep 17, 2019 8:50 pm Post subject: Re: Hot coil!

I am having a similar problem. My coil is getting exceedingly hot. I did change it once already and it fixed the problem of being able to start the car. The car then sat for 2 years, the battery was dead the whole time. Now I charged the battery up and started riding it again. drove 20 min, it ran fine. Shut it off for 45min, and when I tried to restart the car, it cranked and cranked but would not start. Sprayed brake fluid into carb, it make no dicernable difference. After 3 days of use the coil is dead again?

One thing i notice this time is that it seems like power is always on to my coil, even if the car was shut off. When the car was off for 2 hours, i went back and the coil was still exceedingly hot. I pulled the power lead off the coil and it sparked! (no key in the ignition) The battery has been dying, but I just thought it was a bad battery. I guess the coil has been sucking it down after each ride.

I'm going to trace the power wire back to the fuse Box. Im thinking that maybe somebody rewired it at some point.

just wanted to get any other insights or advice. Thanks in advance


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