It has to have spark or gas. One or the other. When figuring which one. Your half- way there.
TAKEN FROM ROB AND DAVES VW PAGE.
One of the most common laments we hear is, "My Bug won't start! What's the matter!?" We have found that in most cases the problem with a non-starting VW Bug (and most any car, for that matter) boils down to "fuel and spark" -
Is sufficient fuel getting from the fuel tank, through the filters, through the fuel pump, past the float needle valve, through the carburetor, and through the intake manifold to the cylinders at the correct fuel-to-air ratio? and -
Is a good hot spark getting from the battery to the coil and on to the distributor, through the points, rotor, ignition wires and spark plugs, and into the cylinders at the right time?
Problems in any of the above areas related to "fuel and spark" can result in an engine that won't run.
Condition #1 -- The Starter Motor Doesn?t Run and the Engine Will Not Rotate.
Following are some possible causes of a starting problem, with references to procedures and/or discussion that may help resolve the problem(s) (yes, problem(s) -- rarely is it only one). (This list is probably not all inclusive.)
~~~
Possible causes -
The battery may be dead. This is the single most likely cause of the starter motor not running and therefore the engine not running. If you have a Volt-Ohm meter, place the leads across the battery terminals with the meter set to ?volts.? A fully-charged battery should read about 12.5V; at any reading lower than about 10V the starter motor will not turn over or will do so very weakly -- and the plugs will probably not fire.
The battery terminal connections may be loose or corroded.
The grounding straps (including the tranny-to-body strap near the nose of the transaxle) may be corroded/loose/broken.
The starter solenoid may be faulty. If the starter clicks but doesn't turn (especially in hot weather), and if it can be freed up with by tapping the solenoid with a hammer and then trying the starter successfully, the solenoid is sticking.
The starter motor may be faulty (see below).
The ignition switch may be faulty. The electrical path for the starter runs from the battery up to the ignition switch and then back to the starter. Any fault in the ignition switch may prevent the solenoid from getting power to operate the starter. If the starter turns fine when the thin wire on the solenoid is shorted to the thick red wire, then you can suspect the ignition switch. See our article on Ignition Switch Replacement.
~~~
Author
Topic: What did you do to your VW today? (Read 743646 times)