New to me 1965 Bug.. very good and of course has issues

[Fozzy]

Got the cash and broke down and went and got a rather unmolested 1965 bug. Lots of good stuff.. but its got some issues. I was prepared for them mentally. The worst of the problems is that the ignition switch was bypassed for working "sometimes" and there is a remote starter button on the rear floor. The bugs engine (1200 40 horse) was reportedly rebuilt by the previous previous owner. Looks fantastic and runs well! on the trip to check it out, it fired right up and ran like a top. Yesterday I went to purchase the car and it fought starting, but did.. and ran well.. ran it about 5 miles to the gas station (gauge inop) and it didn't want to start.. cranked really slow, would start, flutter and die.. A few more tries and it did start.. ran it about 40 miles and stopped for something.. refused to start. Battery seemed really weak.. its a 6 volt so I just assumed that too many cranks and it would crap out.. it did. Brought the battery home and charged it. .took it back this morning replaced the funky remote starter switch with a new one.. bug fired right up and ran wonderully the rest of the way home (40 miles or so), Idled, ran well in all gears and was just fun as hell!! Got home.. shut if off and then instantly tried to start it.. it was a tad "draggy" but fired up and ran well.. Waited about 20 minutes.. now it seems like the battery is practically dead and it will not start (I didn't crank till battery failure). I am going to let it cool and see what happens.. Any general ideas?

Update: Let it cool for an hour or so.. fired up and ran great.. buzzed around town..
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65 Sedan..
Adopted 07/15/17
this is the bug I've been looking for..

71 Tin Top Westy
Adopted Dec or so 2017

[Pruneman99]

Sounds like a bad battery cables or grounding strap. After you check them, get your volt meter out and start looking for voltage drops. Plenty of threads here about that. 6v systems can work fine, but all the connections need to be clean, especially the ground wires. An afternoon with a little brass brush and a drimel can help a lot.

[Fozzy]

Yeah, I need to start tinkering.. just too damned hot in the afternoons to mess with it. I'm compiling a list of things to start on. I'd like to be able to hop in the bug and use it for errands and just generally goofing off in town.
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65 Sedan..
Adopted 07/15/17
this is the bug I've been looking for..

71 Tin Top Westy
Adopted Dec or so 2017

[Randy G.]

You might want to try to determine how old the battery is once you know the charging system is sorted out.

[txoval]

Check the voltage at the Generator/Regulator...may not be putting out the right voltage to charge the battery

For the battery, I run a red top 6V optima gel cell. Great battery

Nice looking car, congrats

[Fozzy]

Its an interstate battery with a 1/16 sticker on it. I don't really like the looks of it. So its on the list of replacing.. I don't think its charging up correctly.. but I'm still in the discovery phase. I just wanted a good starting point.. I paid too damned much for it. but I could have bought one out of a field and spent as much or more getting it to this stage.
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65 Sedan..
Adopted 07/15/17
this is the bug I've been looking for..

71 Tin Top Westy
Adopted Dec or so 2017

[Emeraldlion]

Hey there fozzy. Is the bug that was from hope, ar? Looks very similar. The previous owner has a decent thread chronically g some of his work. Glad someone is going to take good care of it. I am down in Texarkana and currently moddid g our ruby red '67. If you are in ar may see you at one of the shows.

[Fozzy]

Yes, still has the Dealer Sticker from Hope AR on the decklid. I looked for a long time to get another bug. The prices are shocking.. but it is what it is.

I bought it from a young man here in Oklahoma..
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65 Sedan..
Adopted 07/15/17
this is the bug I've been looking for..

71 Tin Top Westy
Adopted Dec or so 2017

[Emeraldlion]

It is a good one. I almost bought it before the young guy you got it from. The hope vw dealership hasn't been around for a long time. The car used to have license plate frame from the dealership. I hope I can get that little piece someday

[Busstom]

Interior is awesome, congrats.

[Abscate]

1965 is a great year. One if mine got me through 4 years in Ithaca NY...-10/15F. Winters, always started with 6 Volts

You might need you starter rebuilt if it wont hit start, but clean all those connections first. Those voltage drops will tell you if you need new wires.
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[Q-Dog]

In my experience, slow cranking when hot is usually a starter issue. Don't forget to check the starter bushing.
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Brian

'69 Dune Buggy
'69 Beetle Convertible
'70 Beetle

[SamboSamba22]

Fozzy,
You have found the beetle dad and I picked up out of Hope a year and a half ago. You can see the progress made, along with the hiccups we faced.
I do know the generator light was on frequently when we sold it to the younger guy you bought it from, probably doesn’t help you are missing the generator strap.
The thread I started regarding the car can be seen here:
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=653131&highlight=
Glad to know it’s in a good home, it’s a very nice car, I’ll be following along with progress, best of luck,
-Sam
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The Bus Barn Ltd. Co.

Oct. ’67 Double Cab (’68 Crew Cab)
[url=http://www.vw-mplate.com/mplate-44412.png]Click to view image[/URL]
March '69 Delivery (Panel Bus)
[url=http://www.vw-mplate.com/mplate-44414.png]Click to view image[/URL]

[Fozzy]

Awesome! Other than looking for bug foibles, I was hoping the person who had it before the guy who had it before me would magically appear. The gen light comes and goes.. The green light flickers a abit at low idle, but I think its just needing some cleaning and wire check and maybe a new pressure sensor. Thanks for appearing.. I'm off to read the other thread! Thanks!!
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65 Sedan..
Adopted 07/15/17
this is the bug I've been looking for..

71 Tin Top Westy
Adopted Dec or so 2017

[Fozzy]

OK, the electric issues along with the remote starter are still here.. I replaced the remote switch as it was broken.. it fires and cranks in the am.. it does apparently love to flood, so its a no no to give it practically any fuel to start it.. once it starts.. its fantastic.. The electric issue is going to be the mother bear of all mother bears
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65 Sedan..
Adopted 07/15/17
this is the bug I've been looking for..

71 Tin Top Westy
Adopted Dec or so 2017

[scottyrocks]

[rockerarm]

[bluebus86]

batteries when low dont recover on there own. However put the battery on a charger overnight , also top off if needed with Distilled water, never tap water. then for a quick test of charging system, turn on the headlights and note brightness (shin on a nearby wall) then start car and rev motor, the lights should brighten when motor is reved, if not, the charging system is a problem, dead generator or maybe simply a loose connection maybe the tranny ground strap, battery terminal or????

if the lights do brighten when motor reved, we can assume the charging system is working to some degree.

the failure to crank issue can be one or more problems. bad connectiosn are first thing to check, either measure volates at the soliniod and starter terminal WHILE some one is cranking the motor, or you can try jumpering the various terminals. the key switch can be worn, connections loose, dirty and that can cause failure to crank.

the addition of a starter relay is a good idea, it will compensate for worn key switches, and will greatly extend the life of the switch, even a new switch will benifit from a starter relay. this relay upgrade was very common even when the Bugs were new. About half the Bugs I have worked on have had a relay added at one time, mine have it.

now if jumpering the soliniod directly dont help, you may have a sticky solinoid, or dirty contacts inside the solinoid, and note high temps like after running can cause the sticking to be worse. you may rebuild the solinoid, open it up, clean and lube the plunger nad clean polish the contacts.

note the added relay can often compenate for a sticky solinoid.

with a car this old, you may have a series of problems that add up, a slightly weak key switch wont give full voltage to solinoid, a dirty ground strap may also drop the voltage a bit more, a plunger with dried up lube requires a bit more volatage to operate verses a lubed one, add up these three problems and it becomes intermittant at starting.

the relay can assure maximum possible voltage to the solinoid, a clean lubed soliniod requires the least voltage to operate, a clean ground strap will assure the full power gets to the other side (negative) of the soliniod.

of course you may have a weak battery, but maybe if everything else was in new condition even that weak battery shohld ahve worked.

so the moral of this long winded post is even if a new battery solves the no crank issue, you maybe wise to look at all the other connections and such in the current path to optimize the system, fix all the weak links, so you can be assured of the best long term reliability

good luck
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Help Prevent VW Engine Fires, see this link.....Engine safety wire information

Stop introducing dirt into your oil when adjusting valves ... https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=683022

[Fozzy]

Sorry folks, I found that this bug was owned by someone in AR and that they had another thread going over all the work that they did. I got caught up reading that. So if you see another 65 bug thread.. thats probably it. The electrical is maddening but I'm learning a lot about why the 6 volt systems are so temperamental. Today I started in with pulling connections and checking, cleaning and reinstalling them. Its friggen crazy hot, so Ive been doing more sweating than really working. I'm at a standstill at the moment. I'm curious about the transmission to body ground strap. The strap seemed to be a batter cable (thick) that was used. I pulled the cable to clean it and noticed that the place the strap is supposed to attach to doesn't seem to be metal?!?1 where is the rubber on the front mount end? Seems to me that it will never ground if its not bare metal. I've looked all over at photos and it seems to be in the right place, but even with a dremel with a wire wheel on it.. doesn't seem to be clearing off to bare metal.
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65 Sedan..
Adopted 07/15/17
this is the bug I've been looking for..

71 Tin Top Westy
Adopted Dec or so 2017

[rockerarm]