72 Vw with no spark

I am having a problem finding out why am not getting a spark. When this happend, I was driving the car and it was working just fine when I went to start it up again, It would not start. Any ideas?

I have replaced the ignition coil (Bosch) thinking that this was the problem, but with no success. I have previously put electronic ignition in the VW, but put the points back in thinking that maybe this caused the problem.

. First turn the key to the ON position (don’t start). Check the voltage across the coil. It should read 12 volts.
. 2 - Try to start the car and put a Analog meter connecting the Red (+) to the (-) on the coil and then Black (-) to ground on the engine block. You should see the needle jump back and forth.
. 3 - If everything at this point is working…then check to see if you’re getting voltage to the spartkplug.

Voltage across the coil will be zero volts if the points are open. This can be normal and okay depending on where the crankshaft stopped last. (But, most of the time the points will be closed.)

Verify that you have 12 volts at the + side of the ignition coil when the key is in both the RUN and the START position. You should have 6 volts on the negative side IF you used the correct coil.
The VW air-cools must use a VW specific coil with an internal ballast or the ignition points will burn up and the condenser may get knocked out.

If you do not have power at the coil with the key in both positions it’s quite possible the electrical part of the ignition switch is faulty.
And there should be an in-line fuse for the coil that is located near the generator; make sure that fuse is good.

Had a very similar problem on a 68 VW. No spark. Replaced the coil, center wire, points and the rotor. Nada. Turned out to be the center pin conductor in the rotor cap. Looked OK, but on close inspection, the little metal tip was gone. New cap cured the problem.

I am getting power to the coil, but I am not getting a spark out of the center wire when I crank the motor.

I did not have points when this occured, I have electronic ignition.

Did you check the rotor cap?

Since this has occured, I have replaced the electronic ignition with points with the same results; however, when the points fall off the lob and touch, I blow a main fuse. What am I doing wrong? any help would be appreciated.

missed a lot in your original post, ehhh?

tricky devil.

blown fuse=short to ground.or overload,same difference.

Do you have anything else connected to the distributor side of the coil? I saw a VW with the back-up light power source connected to the distributor side of the coil.What distributor are you using?

I figured out the problem. It was a stupid error on my part. first off the electronic ignition went bad (brand new). When I put the points back in I attache the wire from the points to the positive end to the coil. Because of my mistake, this caused me a lot of frustration and time. Thanks for all of your help. Does anyone have any oppinon on the electronic ignition?

If it’s just one of those standard magnetic trigger things that replaces the points, you know, I’ve had a lot of luck with them. I’ve used them in American cars, and my dad has one in his '71 Beetle. They’re not perfect, but if you set them up right (the ones I’ve set up need the air gap between the trigger wheel and the pickup set with a feeler gauge), and don’t sit with the ignition turned On and the engine off, they are at least as effective as points without the wear and need for readjustment.

I’m of the opinion that a contact point distributor is fine. Points are dirt cheap and if one gaps them correctly and puts a drop of dist. cam lube on the distributor cam lobes about every 5k miles or so the points should easily last 30-40k miles without ever touching them.

This also gets into the area I mentioned previously about making absolutely SURE that the coil you are using is VW specific and for a contact point distributor. A normal 12 volt coil does not have an internal ballast like the VWs and point life will be very short if a coil like this is used.

Ah, brings back memories of my '71 Superbeetle. Going home on Christmas break from school at -20F, the engine was running ever more sluggishly. After 600 miles, in the toll plaza a few miles from home, it quit for good. The lubricant on the cam lobes had failed in the cold and they were completely worn off until the points no longer opened and closed. Not fun.

I know of another vehicle that did the same thing you describe,the problem was a broken timing belt

We knew this was not the problem from the start.

A 72 Vee-Dub Super Beetle has no timing belt. Also, this post is 4 months old.