61 Bug. Runs fine. Dies, dead as a door nail. Help!

[TimC1979]

Need help. 61 bug. 1835cc single carb. I can be driving it suddenly dies then absolutely nothing. Sometimes it starts back up sometimes it doesn’t. But it dies completely. Jumped it today it ran for 20 mins died then nothing when I turned the key. It has a new battery new starter new ignition new coils seems like new everything. I’ve spent a ton trying to figure this out. Help!!

[Q-Dog]

So when you say it dies, does the starter not turn when you try to start it, or does the engine turn over but not run?
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Brian

'69 Dune Buggy
'69 Beetle Convertible
'70 Beetle

[TimC1979]

Starter doesn’t turn. It’s just completely dead.

[mukluk]

Do the oil and fan lights come on in the speedometer when the ignition is switched ON?
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1960 Ragtop w/Semaphores "Inga"

[TimC1979]

No. Car is completely dead nothing works. Jump it and it’ll fire up

[mukluk]

[mukluk]

[Q-Dog]

I suppose I would get a meter and start checking for power out of the ignition switch.
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Brian

'69 Dune Buggy
'69 Beetle Convertible
'70 Beetle

[TimC1979]

So earlier when it died. No lights no nothing. Went out to get receipts of work. Won’t start but lights will barely come on. It goes from completely dead to not and so on

New carb. New fuel lines to carb. New crank pulley. New ignition switch
New act pulley. New battery cables. New throttle cable. New rear main seal. New factory intake carb. New spark plugs, alt belt, Intake gaskets, manifold.

[mukluk]

Since jumping the car gets it to start, it's pretty safe to rule out the ignition switch as the problem. From the sound of things I would say you likely have two interconnected problems: the charging system isn't properly charging the battery, and as a byproduct of that you have a low/dead battery.

Step one of clearing things up is to ensure the battery cable connections are clean and tight at both ends of both cables -- make sure you put a wrench on each connection to check that they're nice and tight. For the next step, we'll need to know if you have an alternator or generator.
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1960 Ragtop w/Semaphores "Inga"

[Abscate]

How old is the battery and how Long did it sit discharged?
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.ssS!

[TimC1979]

[TimC1979]

New Battery in August. Most recent dead time was last week. It wasn’t driven for 4 months due to us moving.

[TimC1979]

Has an alternator

[Cusser]

For the record, you have an alternator, can tell from the picture.

If lights out are part of the issue, strongly suspect battery, connections there, or cables. Your system is not too complicated. If I was in Idaho I'd help.
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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

[57BLITZ]

I would check to see how well the transaxle/chassis ground strap is connected . . . needs to go from the transaxle case to the chassis . . . NOT to just the mount.
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Jesucristo es mi Señor y Salvador!

[TimC1979]

Thank you I will check that. I appreciate the help. I will update

[mukluk]

Step two:
Once you've verified your battery cable connections are clean and tight at both ends of both cables, do the same for the large red wire on top of the alternator. That done a quick note is needed... an alternator must have voltage present to the windings prior to operation otherwise it will not work, ie, it needs power before it can make power. The way this works on the VW is 12v passes through the generator warning light in the speedo and passes back to the alternator when you switch the ignition ON or to START, so it's imperative the generator warning light works. With that in mind, check the light for operation -- jump the battery if need be in order to test it. If the bulb doesn't work, you will have to fix it or your charging system will not work. If the bulb does work, crank the engine up and let it run -- the warning light should go out with the engine running, if it doesn't then either the alternator isn't putting out power or you have a break in the wire from the alternator up to the speedometer. Assuming the light went out, grab your VOM or multimeter and measure the voltage across the battery terminals -- you should see roughly 13.5 to 14 volts if the alternator is charging correctly.

Keep in mind the battery may take a fair while to charge back up, depending on how low it was. There is also the possibility that the battery has been drawn down too much or for too long and will not be able to accept a charge anymore. If you find the charging system seems to be working but you're still running into issues with the battery dying on you, it would be wise to take the battery in to your local FLAPS and have them load test the battery.
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1960 Ragtop w/Semaphores "Inga"

[TimC1979]

Love it. Needed some new ideas. Thank you!!

[Sharp64]

Did you check the water level in the battery? That ones bitten me in the ass more than once.
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1960 Indigo Blue Ragtop (Blue Barry)
1967 Ghia
1985 Westy Money Pit
“...some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn.” - Michael Caine