Barn Find Beetle-Need Help to Get it Running

[jrbuzz8]

A while back, I purchased a 1974 Super Beetle that had sat in a barn for a long time. I got a great deal on it, so I couldn’t turn it down. Turns out, it hasn’t been driven since 2002, when it was being used as a daily driver and then the owner at the time tore apart the dash board to try to install a new speaker system. It was never finished, and so I’m left with a mess of wires. First, though, I decided to get it running. I’ve got most of the wires in the correct spots (all of them for starting the car), but I can only get it to turn over and not fire. I’ve replaced the spark plugs, wires, fuel pump, and rebuilt the carburetor, but still no luck getting it to fire. Should I replace the distributor, as well? It also won’t turn over using the key in the ignition, and has to be “hot wired” to turn over. Is the ignition switch bad? All fuses are new and good. What is my next step? Thanks!

[Q-Dog]

Use your multi meter or test light to verify power at the coil with with the key in the run position. If it has power at the coil and no spark, I would probably replace the points, condensor, cap and rotor and see what happens.

If no power at the coil you should probably start testing at the ignition switch to see where the fault is.
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Brian

'69 Dune Buggy
'69 Beetle Convertible
'70 Beetle

[Eric&Barb]

Good that you have rebuilt the carburetor, hopefully you cleaned it at least two times, can take three to get out all the gunk in them from sitting so long. Probably good you replaced the fuel pump, but many of the new pumps made today put out way too much fuel pressure, that can flood the engine. Getting a stock VW pump made in Germany and rebuilding it is a better option.

New distributors are for most part are junk. Stock distributors are much better quality and there are folks that will rebuild them due to this. More likely the points in the distributor need a quick sanding to remove corrosion that is keeping them from conducting electricity. Either pull out the points or pull out the distributor with the clamp still on it. Then use a bit of sandpaper folded over to clean up the points. If you pull the distributor out hold it upside down while sanding the points to keep the paper grit from dropping down into the distributor workings. With the clamp still on the distributor, the distributor will go back right where it was before. Will just need to rotate the rotor shaft to line up with the dist drive shaft in the engine to get them back together when you install the distributor.

Got to stop replacing parts willy nilly and need to learn to diagnose what is really wrong. As already posted, first check if you have voltage. Always check the easiest to test possibilities first.

As for is the ignition switch good or bad, you need to double check wiring, then check the switch with the multimeter.
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[Danwvw]

[bluebus86]

see if your getting a spark. have helper crank the motor while while you hold one sparkplug wire removed from plug about half inch from motor block. a strong blue spark should jump that gap to the engine case. if no spark jumps, then you have an ignition problem

you also should smell unburnt gasoline from the tail pipe immediately after extensive cranking if the motor wont start if no gasoline smell, then you probably have a fuel deliver problem.
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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

[Tom K.]

[empi3]

More step by step here.

http://www.speedyjim.net/htm/eng_strt.htm

http://www.vw-resource.com/car_wont_start.html

Steven
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The fact someone posts a thousand messages a month does not mean the messages contain anything worth reading.
Bob Hoover

1970 Beetle
1956 Ragtop Beetle

[Danwvw]

[jrbuzz8]

Awesome thanks a ton! I’m a college student in Chicago, and this is my first Beetle that I’ve owned. Being at school makes it difficult to work on the car as fast as I’d like to. I’ll check out/test to see the distributor is working properly. I know that just replacing parts left and right won’t normally fix anything, but the things I replaced needed to be replaced anyway, so I figured it was best to start there. One thing I notice is that I still seem to be having a fuel delivery problem to the carburetor from the fuel pump. I installed an additional filter in the line going from the pump to the carburetor, and I can see there’s fuel in there, but I never see any fuel being moved into the intake. I can positively say that everything is clean and clear in the carburetor, as well.
So, next I’ll check the distributor, then the carburetor again, then I’ll look at the ignition switch. I also know that you have to have the seatbelt buckled to engage the ignition switch. Could the wiring for that not be connected properly, making the ignition useless?

[Cusser]

[Eric&Barb]

Carburetor has many tiny passages that can be clogged up with dirt, debris, fuel varnish, corrosion. Even if it looks clean in the places you can see into easily.

You are not going to see fuel flow unless it is at least liters (quarts) per few minutes. Probably the fuel pump needs to be primed. Remove the fuel line at the pump that goes from pump to carb. Cut a plastic fuel filter into a fuel proof funnel. Use this funnel to pour fuel into the carb. When the float chamber is full the float inside should shut off you being able to pour any more fuel into it, but if the float or valve has failed the fuel will start dripping down the throat of the carb.

Once you have fuel in the carb, have spark, and can get the starter to engage, you should be able to get the engine to fire. With the fuel in the carb the engine at idle will get the fuel pump working due to the engine running, pumping the pump thousands of times a minute.

Hopefully you got the correct replacement fuel pump. There are two types that each require a different length of push rod. Use the wrong pump0 with wrong length of rod and it can just not function or destroy the pump.
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[dirtkeeper]

i assume that you have clean fresh gas in the tank.

[mark tucker]

clean the points too.

[Starbucket]

Remove the fuel line from the pump that comes from the tank and blow in it until you can tell it's bubbling in the tank to see if the rubber lines have swollen closed, those german rubber hoses look good on the outside but they swell closed on the inside (same thing happens to the rubber brake hoses if you notice the brakes are dragging). Buy a can of starting spray from your local FLAPS and spray down the carb and try to start it, if it runs for a few seconds, its a fuel problem. If your carb has the anti run on solenoid on the carb make sure you hear a "click" when power is at the coil or it won't idle.

[mark tucker]

yup that silynoid on the carbs do cause headaches if your not used to them.

[jrbuzz8]

All clean gas in the tank, and in the lines. It clearly makes it all the way to the carburetor, which is sitting with a completely empty bowl, and I would think that would make a difference. Those solenoids are the worst, my sister’s 1982 AMC has one on that carburetor. The front brakes are also basically locked and those wheels are not freely moving, which will probably be another thread if I can’t figure it out on my own lol. I’ll have some time to work on the car over my spring break, so I’ll be on here with results more often, I hope.

[Eric&Barb]

[jrbuzz8]

Here’s a quick update and another question. After testing the ignition coil, it was clear it was no good (it read about 4.5 ohms and it should be 2.4 max) so it was replaced. I hoped that was the problem that was causing it not to spark, but a new one didn’t solve that issue, either. The car still doesn’t seem to spark, so it won’t fire. I did test to see if the wires were sending power to the plugs and it doesn’t seem like they are. What else can I look for? It’s turning over, it just won’t fire.

[Patty B.]

Post a pic! It's always nice to see a new find!

[Eric&Barb]

Do you get a spark from the coil when you jumper across the open points?
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