1974 Super beetle, basket case...

[Amskeptic]

Engine wiring is done...still no fire from the coil...I suppose I shall order a new one.

Hold on . . . that sounds like "throw parts at the wall and see what sticks . . . "

Turn on ignition. Stick test lamp probe on coil #15 (+). Does it light up?
If not, ensure that the black wire that goes into the same harness as the oil pressure switch blue wire is actually attached to #15 (+) on the coil.
Make sure your carburetor's choke wire and solenoid wire go to #15 as well. The reverse light fuse should be nearby, and it is supposed to hook to #15. Take it off and set aside while trouble-shooting.

Does the green wire go to coil #1 (-)? Take off any other wire on #1 and temporarily tape up.

If lamp is lit, rotate the engine with a wrench on the alternator about 45* at the crankshaft pulley and see if the light goes out. Yes? Good. No? Keep going. If the light refuses to go out or come on! as you manually rotate the engine, then the points adjustment and or grounding is suspect.
Colin

[cegammel]

Just to confirm:

Lamp should be attached to the #15.
As Engine is rotated past 45*, Lamp should go out. If lamp goes out, then...continue replacing coil?

I have not messed with the points...yet. I tried last weekend and managed to stab myself in the thumb. I'll do points tonight, then move on with the coil.

My coil analysis went like this:
Voltage at #15 is 12v.
Voltage at #1 is 12v.
I replaced fried wiring.
Coil and spark plugs wires are new.
Resistance between #1 and #15 is 4 ohms.
Resistance between #15 and #4 is inconsistent.
Coil wire, held 1/4 inch from grounded metal has no spark at all.

[cegammel]

New points installed and gapped, light does not go out. It appears from Bentley that the grounds are all through the one strap on the transmission. Also, my negative battery cable was very hot after running the starter. The wire itself is in rough shape, so perhaps I should just replace it first.

In other news, both tail lights now work, but still no horn.

[asiab3]

When testing the "light going out then on again" part, you have the test light on the negative (#!) side of the coil, with JUST the green dsitributor wire, right? The posts above are vauge.

Robbie

[cegammel]

So...lamp is on 1... not 15?

[cegammel]

Just tried the lamp on1, without change. What ground problems should I be looking for? I repaired the negative battery cable, so that should be less of a problem...

Thanks for your help!

[asiab3]

Just tried the lamp on1, without change.

Does it give you lamp on or lamp off without change? Key on, trying to start, lamp on constant, right?

This is a good track to head down; without a lamp flickering on #1 when trying to start, we know you do not have spark.

[cegammel]

Lamp on when trying to start, no flicker. Muir mentions running a jumper from the voltage regulator back to the coil to determine if the switch is at fault...can you elaborate on that process? Is the idea to bypass the switch?

[asiab3]

Lamp on when trying to start, no flicker. Muir mentions running a jumper from the voltage regulator back to the coil to determine if the switch is at fault...can you elaborate on that process? Is the idea to bypass the switch?

Yes bypassing the switch is a good way to rule it out. BUT if the light comes on with the switch in "run," and the light comes on with the switch in "start" then the switch SHOULD work. Since I have seen weirder things happen, this is a good free test to do to absolutely 100% ensure the switch is good. Elaboration:

The switch just conducts battery current to the coil when your wrist and key tell it to. We can take a wire from the battery to the coil directly to rule it out, by hooking a not-tiny gauge wire from battery positive OR voltage regulator terminal 30, (that's the terminal that goes to the battery anyway,) to the coil terminal 15 (+).* I would use a fuse or other safety method to ensure nothing goes crazy. Hook the wire to the coil first, THEN the other source. This ensures no direct shorts. Fire extinguisher nearby.

Now the fact that your test light is not going out says either the points are not opening, or the green wire is finding ground somewhere. The grounded green wire sneaks up if:

A) you forget to plug the condenser into the points.
B) the green wire-to-points-wire mentioned above rubs on the distributor shaft and chafes through.
C) the points rubbing block breaks off and doesn't allow the points to open.
D) any other short in that wire happens.

The D item is likely, as there are plenty of ways for a wire to chafe, break, or short out. A bad condenser could theoretically short out internally, but at this point we want to test components and systems and not "throw parts at it."

To recap: Bypass the switch if it will make you feel better, but we REALLY want to figure out why the points aren't interrupting the (-) coil path to ground.

Robbie

[cegammel]

It's alive!!! As it turns out, I screwed up the points adjustment by a few thousandths....like double the .018 I was shooting for. So, it runs! Unfortunately, it would seem that I have about 1/16th of an inch in end play... clearly visible when the clutch pedal is pressed.

So, on to the next round of interrogation: Can I shim the flywheel to assuage my end play in order to get the car on the road and running, with full intention of rebuilding the engine in a few months? I have not hooked up the oil pressure gauge yet. I suppose that will be the true telling.
Also, my new crankshaft pulley apparently doesn't have a timing notch...what is the best course of action here?

Thanks so much for all your help!

[asiab3]

Glad you got it! Isn't breathing life into something fun?

Freeplay:
Can you get an actual measurement?
I would shim it out soon; I'm a sucker for a tight engine. I do not know the rest of the condition of your engine. For example, if it has sloppy bearing clearances and compression leaks, it's rebuild time anyway. But on the off chance it IS a good base engine otherwise, it's just a few hours of time and a shim set to replace. You want .003"-.005" of actual crankshaft endplay using no more and no less than three shims.

Now, some engines with poor clutch riders and excessive endplay neglecters have a loosened #1 main (thrust) bearing. This will show up as excess endplay. We want to eliminate this by stacking 4 or even 5 shims between the flywheel and the bearing, then checking endplay here. Logic says there should be ZERO end play, but a loose main/thrust bearing will show up as endplay here when you know there shouldn't be any. So once we establish you have a good base to go off of, then you can set your .003" to .005" of actual crankshaft end play.

TDC pulley mark:
See the "keyway" in the pulley below on the left side? Remove your pulley nut, and position your keyway as close as you can to 90* counter-clockwise from vertical. Look CAREFULLY for a dimple on the rear rim of the pulley, (closest to you,) or a notch on the front side of the pulley. If there is absolutely 100% no mark, then you can use a TDC tool or buy a new pulley. I like an EMPI degree pulley; they are perfectly round, though not as heavy as the stock pulleys. A TDC tool works by threading into a spark plug hole and stoping the piston from coming all the way up. Rotate the engine until piston contact, then make a small mark at the case split line on the pulley. Rotate the engine backwards 340+ degrees until it contacts again, then make another small mark. True TDC is exactly halfway between the marks. If the marks are far apart, thread the tool out some and try again for closer marks.

Robbie

[cegammel]

Started on the brakes. Installed new steel line from the master cylinder to the rear. Installed a new master cylinder. Installed a new short steel line from master cylinder to the splitter to the front wheels. I bled the master by cracking the nuts on the lines at the master cylinder. I have a few issues:
- I am getting NO fluid from the drivers front bleeder, and slow sludge everywhere else.
- the master does not seem to building pressure. Is there a cylinder bleed procedure?

Thanks for your help!

[cegammel]

Still have not gone back to brakes or engine, but my window seals are in. All but the windshield are in...I am a little worried about the flimsy plastic trim.

[cegammel]

Just shattered my windshield...and abused the ears of the neighbors.

[Amskeptic]

Just shattered my windshield...and abused the ears of the neighbors.

Why would you shatter your windshield? Hippie threw an engine mount through his bus and shattered his from the inside out. I cracked mine on the BobD by trying to nudge it into place.
Did you throw a wrench at the car when the brakes wouldn't build pressure?
Colin

P.S. Fill master cylinder reservoir. Open right rear bleeder. Put a hose from r/r bleeder into a jar. Wait an hour all the while keeping fluid in the reservoir. Did jar fill a little? Repeat on all wheels. This is the gravity method of bleeding. You MUST have well-adjusted brakes or your bleeding is going to be very inefficient)