73 Super Beetle, Solex carburetor adjustment

[glennj3cub]

Wow, I removed it but did not notice any fuel in it. That one picture could be a shadow?
I poured gas into the float chamber & the float came up then went down as the bowl emptied.
The fuel line is disconnected so how in the world could the fuel be squirting into the throat as you see it in the pictures?

[kpf]

You could have a crack in the casting. Can you see exactly where the gas is entering the throat of the carburetor?
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1971 Super Beetle

[glennj3cub]

Sorry I thought that was my picture.☹️
It’s floating at about a half inch below the top. If I press the float down it then runs into the throat. Right now it sitting steady.
Darn, I popped the plastic piece out & it flew into never land!

[glennj3cub]

Jpg, when I push the float down the gas rises in the bowl, it then runs over in a tube over the throat. Could that plastic piece that clips the float in (was in backwards) cause that to happen when the carburetor was together?

[VW_Jimbo]

[glennj3cub]

I found the plastic clip😅. The float bowl needle has been in cleaner all morning. It was closed and not falling open (although its new).
I’ll put it back together and try again!

[ashman40]

[glennj3cub]

I’m so frustrated! It seems every time I work on it I have other issues pop up. Bear with me please. I have never gotten it running satisfactorily.
Today I replaced the top of the carburetor after cleaning the float valve (it’s no longer sticking). Gas is not flowing into the throat. The large one is turned out 3 full turns. The small one is turned out 2 1/2 turns to begin. It would not run. I found # 3 plug wire inside of the distributor corroded. These are less than a year old. I cleaned it & the others are clean.
I got it cranked & running after holding the gas pedal on the floor for a while. It just didn’t run well. It was skipping. I began adjusting the small screw turning it inward with the tachometer on. It sped up and got smoother as I leaned it.
After getting the RPM to about 880, the small needle was only 1 turn out from bottom. So far I’ve had to set it very lean like this for it to run!
I did a short drive and it was bad, skipping & some backfiring.
Back to ground Zero for tomorrow.
Is there something else I need to check or adjust on the carburetor? I have the choke correct. Maybe I need a new carburetor? I just don’t know what to do!

[VW_Jimbo]

Yes!!!!!

CHECK THE SPARK QUALITY!!!!!!!!

I have asked about it several times. Poor spark acts like an overly rich condition. Which represents what you have going on.

At start up, low voltage to the coil will result in poor quality output from the secondary. It could be as simple as a corroded connector or even a burned ignition feeder from the ignition switch. Really common!

Get a spark checker and keep spark quality.
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Jimbo

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

[ashman40]

I'm with VW_Jimbo, check your ignition.

Somethings you can try to isolate an ignition problem:

Using your battery jumper cables and a jumper wire power the ignition coil #15 (+) terminal directly from the battery. This ensures the voltage is as high as possible. If it makes a difference it suggests your coil is low on voltage due to wire resistance between the battery and ignition switch circuit.

While the car is idling (800-1000rpm), remove a spark plug wire from the distributor cap, one at a time. As you pull the wire you should see a spark jumping between the cap and the wire end. As you continue to pull away the spark should stop. Listen for the idle rpms to change as that cylinder stops firing. If a cylinder is not firing pulling the spark plug wire from the cap makes no change in the engine sound. You have identified a bad cylinder. Investigate why it is not firing.
Repeat the test with the engine rpms up around 1500rpms. This is a test to confirm the cylinder is firing. If the cylinder is not firing at idle and at 1500rpms it is dead. If there is a spark jumping between the cap and the wire but there is not change in engine sound when you pull the plug wire far enough away it may be a bad spark plug or a lack of compression in the cylinder.

Remove the spark plugs from the cylinders and install then into the end of the plug wire. While you crank the engine, ground the body of the spark plug and look for a spark jumping between the two plug electrodes. You can use the jumper cables to hold the spark plug and ground it at the other end. This confirms that the spark is making it all the way to the spark plug and jumping the plug gap. Test each spark plug.

What color are the sparks? The coil should be generating 15KV pulses which should appear as blue-white sparks. Yellow-orange sparks are weak. This could be caused by low voltage or a bad 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!}

[glennj3cub]

I apologize fir not responding back sooner. Lots of things to try to keep up with. I just read your responses.
So I’ll say what I did. I ID ‘s # 4 plug wire had slipped from the plug (I’m not sure when that happened but I assume when I was removing the ac compressor). It would not run with that wire off. I got her running and began pulling wires from the distributor cap. One had corrosion on it. After not getting her to perform right I replaced the carburetor with a fake (but good looking) Solex H30/31 picture. The adv said it was a Solex (same) but when it came in I see no name or # on it. It was cheap so I put it on and set it as good as possible.
It’s driving pretty darn good but not perfect. But it does crank up easily every time. No more nasty smells. I had to return and edit. I forgot to say about the mixture. The small needle is out only 3/4 turn. This is where the old one liked to be. The large one is 1 1/2 turns out. The old one had to be out about 4 turns but never was functional well.
Though I know I should remove all of the plugs and test them. I could hardly get to the ones on the left. I just removed to ac hoses now I can get my hand back there!