71 Auto won't start

Hi guys. I thought someone may have a quick answer to this before I
test everything. Me and my son were sticking some spotlights on my 71
semi auto, 1302s. All was good until i went to start the car. Starter
motor turns fine, but won't fire up and the auto won't engage.
Normally you hear it whirring away as soon as you touch the gearstick.
I have checked all the fuses and connections in the fuse box, also the
fuse for the auto in the engine bay. Are there any others? I'm
wondering if maybe we shorted something and just want a clue where to
look. Have just tuned it all up and was running mint.
Thanks
Andrew

I would check the power at the coil. If the fuse to the coil looks
good you still might want to clean its contacts.

Mario
Vintage Werks resto

On Jan 30, 4:03?am, "scream" > wrote:
> Hi guys. I thought someone may have a quick answer to this before I
> test everything. Me and my son were sticking some spotlights on my 71
> semi auto, 1302s. All was good until i went to start the car. Starter
> motor turns fine, but won't fire up and the auto won't engage.
> Normally you hear it whirring away as soon as you touch the gearstick.
> I have checked all the fuses and connections in the fuse box, also the
> fuse for the auto in the engine bay. Are there any others? I'm
> wondering if maybe we shorted something and just want a clue where to
> look. Have just tuned it all up and was running mint.
> Thanks
> Andrew

scream wrote:
> Hi guys. I thought someone may have a quick answer to this before I
> test everything. Me and my son were sticking some spotlights on my 71
> semi auto, 1302s. All was good until i went to start the car. Starter
> motor turns fine, but won't fire up and the auto won't engage.
> Normally you hear it whirring away as soon as you touch the gearstick.
> I have checked all the fuses and connections in the fuse box, also the
> fuse for the auto in the engine bay. Are there any others? I'm
> wondering if maybe we shorted something and just want a clue where to
> look. Have just tuned it all up and was running mint.
> Thanks
> Andrew
>

I bet you disturbed some wiring/connection at the fuse block.

BTW, there is *no* fuse for the Ignition/Coil.
Although the Blk lead from the Ignition switch does go to
a terminal on the fuse block, the Blk lead going into the
Main harness for the Coil comes off the same point without
a fuse in the circuit.

Looks like this:
http://www.nls.net/mp/volks/schem/ignition.gif

There *is* a fuse in the engine bay for the autostick
vacuum solenoid valve. That's the one you hear click
when the shift is touched. But if the Coil isn't getting power,
the solenoid valve won't either.

Locate the Blk wires in the diagram and use a multimeter
to trace the 12V power.

Speedy Jim
http://www.nls.net/mp/volks/

Thanks for your help. I'll give that a crack.

Hi. I still can't get my bug going. The coil seems to be getting power
when I chuck the voltmeter on it, and so does the auto shift from the
coil. I have tried putting in a coil from another car and I stuck my
VW one in that car which worked fine. I ran a wire from the battery
straight to the coil but still nothing. In the keep your VW alive book
it mentions fuse #15. Where is that? I only have 12 in the fuse box.
Thanks again

scream wrote:

> Hi. I still can't get my bug going. The coil seems to be getting power
> when I chuck the voltmeter on it, and so does the auto shift from the
> coil. I have tried putting in a coil from another car and I stuck my
> VW one in that car which worked fine. I ran a wire from the battery
> straight to the coil but still nothing. In the keep your VW alive book
> it mentions fuse #15. Where is that? I only have 12 in the fuse box.
> Thanks again
>

I've completely lost track of the original story
without the original post quoted.
Is there spark at the coil when cranking?

Fuse #15 refers to one of the in-line fuses hung off the Coil.
That's for the vacuum solenoid circuit and doesn't affect the spark.

There is *no* fuse in the circuit feeding power to the Coil.

Speedy Jim
http://www.nls.net/mp/volks/

OK back to the basics! ;-)

Gas, Compression, Spark
You are missing one or more of the above

Gotta ask questions like these so bear with me!
1. So the engine cranks over? And cranks over well?

2. Does the ignition distributor rotor turn when you crank over the engine?
I have seen some distributors that have popped up and don't rotate anymore
when the engine cranks over.

3. Like Jim said..............do you get spark? You could check the points
by opening and closing them with a non-metallic tool to see if you get a
spark at the coil wire unplugged from the dist. cap and held close to a
metal part of the engine. Make sure that the ign switch is in the 'ON'
position and you have power going to the ign coil. Take off any other wires
to the ign coil which includes the carb wiring, the AT vacuum solenoid and
the back-up light switch. Just have the power wire feeding the coil and the
distributor condensor wire connected.
On my '70 Beetle my points need to be freed up from sticking open before my
engine will start, but I only start it up every 5-7 years. <g>

4. Look down the throat of the carburator and open up the throttle by
pulling down the arm on the carb like you would a slot machine. Should be
gas squirting down inside of the carb, but wear safety glasses to protect
yourself.


Might be fouled out spark plugs or liquid that is not gasoline to add to
your list of things to check!

Report results and PLEASE include previous posts. ;-)

later,
dave
(One out of many daves)


"Speedy Jim" > wrote in message
. net...
> scream wrote:
>
>> Hi. I still can't get my bug going. The coil seems to be getting power
>> when I chuck the voltmeter on it, and so does the auto shift from the
>> coil. I have tried putting in a coil from another car and I stuck my
>> VW one in that car which worked fine. I ran a wire from the battery
>> straight to the coil but still nothing. In the keep your VW alive book
>> it mentions fuse #15. Where is that? I only have 12 in the fuse box.
>> Thanks again
>>
>
> I've completely lost track of the original story
> without the original post quoted.
> Is there spark at the coil when cranking?
>
> Fuse #15 refers to one of the in-line fuses hung off the Coil.
> That's for the vacuum solenoid circuit and doesn't affect the spark.
>
> There is *no* fuse in the circuit feeding power to the Coil.
>
> Speedy Jim
> http://www.nls.net/mp/volks/
>
>
>

On Feb 13, 11:14 am, "dave AKA vwdoc1" > wrote:
> OK back to the basics! ;-)
>
> Gas, Compression, Spark
> You are missing one or more of the above
>
> Gotta ask questions like these so bear with me!
> 1. So the engine cranks over? And cranks over well?
>
> 2. Does the ignition distributor rotor turn when you crank over the engine?
> I have seen some distributors that have popped up and don't rotate anymore
> when the engine cranks over.
>
> 3. Like Jim said..............do you get spark? You could check the points
> by opening and closing them with a non-metallic tool to see if you get a
> spark at the coil wire unplugged from the dist. cap and held close to a
> metal part of the engine. Make sure that the ign switch is in the 'ON'
> position and you have power going to the ign coil. Take off any other wires
> to the ign coil which includes the carb wiring, the AT vacuum solenoid and
> the back-up light switch. Just have the power wire feeding the coil and the
> distributor condensor wire connected.
> On my '70 Beetle my points need to be freed up from sticking open before my
> engine will start, but I only start it up every 5-7 years. <g>
>
> 4. Look down the throat of the carburator and open up the throttle by
> pulling down the arm on the carb like you would a slot machine. Should be
> gas squirting down inside of the carb, but wear safety glasses to protect
> yourself.
>
> Might be fouled out spark plugs or liquid that is not gasoline to add to
> your list of things to check!
>
> Report results and PLEASE include previous posts. ;-)
>
> later,
> dave
> (One out of many daves)
>
> "Speedy Jim" > wrote in message
>
> . net...
>
> > scream wrote:
>
> >> Hi. I still can't get my bug going. The coil seems to be getting power
> >> when I chuck the voltmeter on it, and so does the auto shift from the
> >> coil. I have tried putting in a coil from another car and I stuck my
> >> VW one in that car which worked fine. I ran a wire from the battery
> >> straight to the coil but still nothing. In the keep your VW alive book
> >> it mentions fuse #15. Where is that? I only have 12 in the fuse box.
> >> Thanks again
>
> > I've completely lost track of the original story
> > without the original post quoted.
> > Is there spark at the coil when cranking?
>
> > Fuse #15 refers to one of the in-line fuses hung off the Coil.
> > That's for the vacuum solenoid circuit and doesn't affect the spark.
>
> > There is *no* fuse in the circuit feeding power to the Coil.
>
> > Speedy Jim
> >http://www.nls.net/mp/volks/

Hi. Sorry about deleting posts. I guess you guys are viewing things
differently to me. I see all the posts together and when the posts
have all the replies in them I have to scroll down heaps to get to the
most current, so I thought it would annoy everyone to include all the
old posts, so I deleted them. I'll keep em now.I'm using Google Groups
by the way.
Anyway, just to check I have this set up right, on my coil I have one
side with three lugs. One is the black wire that provides the power,
one goes to the auto, and there are two wires together on the last
one. I don't know where they are going. On the other side are two lugs
with one wire going to the condenser on the distributer (which is new
as well as new points, rotor and cap which were all working sweet and
I tuned it all up) When the ignition is on I get around 12 volts on my
voltmeter (positive to the black wire lug, neg to earth) I am getting
no spark when I take the fat centre wire out at the distributor end
and hold it 1mm away from an earth. I verified the earth was good with
the voltmeter also. I hanged the fat black wire with one from my other
working car. no spark. Also I took all the wires off the lugs as you
suggested except the black one bringing the power and the green one to
condenser. Still nothing. I swapped the coil from the working car.
nothing. I put my vw coil in the other car - worked. When the coil is
in the vw it feels warm. Don't know if that's normal or not.
I tried to shove the positive from the voltmeter in where the fat
black wire was in the coil. Still nothing (although I didn't know what
to set the voltmeter on for that.) The thing is the vw coil worked in
the other car! Also the auto clutch ain't engaging but there is power
to it as the lug is the same one the black power in wire is connected
to. It used to whirr around just with the ignition turned on, car not
started. Could it be some kind of short? As you can no doubt tell, I'm
no expert, but learning always and I really appreciate you guys taking
time out to help.
Andrew

scream wrote:

> On Feb 13, 11:14 am, "dave AKA vwdoc1" > wrote:
>
>>OK back to the basics! ;-)
>>
>>Gas, Compression, Spark
>>You are missing one or more of the above
>>
>>Gotta ask questions like these so bear with me!
>>1. So the engine cranks over? And cranks over well?
>>
>>2. Does the ignition distributor rotor turn when you crank over the engine?
>>I have seen some distributors that have popped up and don't rotate anymore
>>when the engine cranks over.
>>
>>3. Like Jim said..............do you get spark? You could check the points
>>by opening and closing them with a non-metallic tool to see if you get a
>>spark at the coil wire unplugged from the dist. cap and held close to a
>>metal part of the engine. Make sure that the ign switch is in the 'ON'
>>position and you have power going to the ign coil. Take off any other wires
>>to the ign coil which includes the carb wiring, the AT vacuum solenoid and
>>the back-up light switch. Just have the power wire feeding the coil and the
>>distributor condensor wire connected.
>>On my '70 Beetle my points need to be freed up from sticking open before my
>>engine will start, but I only start it up every 5-7 years. <g>
>>
>>4. Look down the throat of the carburator and open up the throttle by
>>pulling down the arm on the carb like you would a slot machine. Should be
>>gas squirting down inside of the carb, but wear safety glasses to protect
>>yourself.
>>
>>Might be fouled out spark plugs or liquid that is not gasoline to add to
>>your list of things to check!
>>
>>Report results and PLEASE include previous posts. ;-)
>>
>>later,
>>dave
>>(One out of many daves)
>>
>>"Speedy Jim" > wrote in message
>>
y.net...
>>
>>
>>>scream wrote:
>>
>>>>Hi. I still can't get my bug going. The coil seems to be getting power
>>>>when I chuck the voltmeter on it, and so does the auto shift from the
>>>>coil. I have tried putting in a coil from another car and I stuck my
>>>>VW one in that car which worked fine. I ran a wire from the battery
>>>>straight to the coil but still nothing. In the keep your VW alive book
>>>>it mentions fuse #15. Where is that? I only have 12 in the fuse box.
>>>>Thanks again
>>
>>> I've completely lost track of the original story
>>> without the original post quoted.
>>> Is there spark at the coil when cranking?
>>
>>> Fuse #15 refers to one of the in-line fuses hung off the Coil.
>>> That's for the vacuum solenoid circuit and doesn't affect the spark.
>>
>>> There is *no* fuse in the circuit feeding power to the Coil.
>>
>>>Speedy Jim
>>>http://www.nls.net/mp/volks/
>
>
> Hi. Sorry about deleting posts. I guess you guys are viewing things
> differently to me. I see all the posts together and when the posts
> have all the replies in them I have to scroll down heaps to get to the
> most current, so I thought it would annoy everyone to include all the
> old posts, so I deleted them. I'll keep em now.I'm using Google Groups
> by the way.
> Anyway, just to check I have this set up right, on my coil I have one
> side with three lugs. One is the black wire that provides the power,
> one goes to the auto, and there are two wires together on the last
> one. I don't know where they are going. On the other side are two lugs
> with one wire going to the condenser on the distributer (which is new
> as well as new points, rotor and cap which were all working sweet and
> I tuned it all up) When the ignition is on I get around 12 volts on my
> voltmeter (positive to the black wire lug, neg to earth) I am getting
> no spark when I take the fat centre wire out at the distributor end
> and hold it 1mm away from an earth. I verified the earth was good with
> the voltmeter also. I hanged the fat black wire with one from my other
> working car. no spark. Also I took all the wires off the lugs as you
> suggested except the black one bringing the power and the green one to
> condenser. Still nothing. I swapped the coil from the working car.
> nothing. I put my vw coil in the other car - worked. When the coil is
> in the vw it feels warm. Don't know if that's normal or not.
> I tried to shove the positive from the voltmeter in where the fat
> black wire was in the coil. Still nothing (although I didn't know what
> to set the voltmeter on for that.) The thing is the vw coil worked in
> the other car! Also the auto clutch ain't engaging but there is power
> to it as the lug is the same one the black power in wire is connected
> to. It used to whirr around just with the ignition turned on, car not
> started. Could it be some kind of short? As you can no doubt tell, I'm
> no expert, but learning always and I really appreciate you guys taking
> time out to help.
> Andrew
>


Quote: "It used to whirr around just with the ignition turned on,
car not started."

What does this mean?? The starter whirred?

Back to square #1. Does the starter crank the engine?

-----------------------

As for spark, read this article on my web site:
"Why won't my engine start?"

Skip down to the No Spark section.
Step-by-step tests. Easy Peasy

-----------------------

Coil will normally get warm.

The auto clutch won't activate unless the engine
is running since the clutch needs engine vacuum.

-------------------------

Post back with any more clues or symptoms and
with what further tests show.

Speedy Jim
http://www.nls.net/mp/volks/

On Feb 15, 3:02 am, Speedy Jim > wrote:
> scream wrote:
> > On Feb 13, 11:14 am, "dave AKA vwdoc1" > wrote:
>
> >>OK back to the basics! ;-)
>
> >>Gas, Compression, Spark
> >>You are missing one or more of the above
>
> >>Gotta ask questions like these so bear with me!
> >>1. So the engine cranks over? And cranks over well?
>
> >>2. Does the ignition distributor rotor turn when you crank over the engine?
> >>I have seen some distributors that have popped up and don't rotate anymore
> >>when the engine cranks over.
>
> >>3. Like Jim said..............do you get spark? You could check the points
> >>by opening and closing them with a non-metallic tool to see if you get a
> >>spark at the coil wire unplugged from the dist. cap and held close to a
> >>metal part of the engine. Make sure that the ign switch is in the 'ON'
> >>position and you have power going to the ign coil. Take off any other wires
> >>to the ign coil which includes the carb wiring, the AT vacuum solenoid and
> >>the back-up light switch. Just have the power wire feeding the coil and the
> >>distributor condensor wire connected.
> >>On my '70 Beetle my points need to be freed up from sticking open before my
> >>engine will start, but I only start it up every 5-7 years. <g>
>
> >>4. Look down the throat of the carburator and open up the throttle by
> >>pulling down the arm on the carb like you would a slot machine. Should be
> >>gas squirting down inside of the carb, but wear safety glasses to protect
> >>yourself.
>
> >>Might be fouled out spark plugs or liquid that is not gasoline to add to
> >>your list of things to check!
>
> >>Report results and PLEASE include previous posts. ;-)
>
> >>later,
> >>dave
> >>(One out of many daves)
>
> >>"Speedy Jim" > wrote in message
>
> y.net...
>
> >>>scream wrote:
>
> >>>>Hi. I still can't get my bug going. The coil seems to be getting power
> >>>>when I chuck the voltmeter on it, and so does the auto shift from the
> >>>>coil. I have tried putting in a coil from another car and I stuck my
> >>>>VW one in that car which worked fine. I ran a wire from the battery
> >>>>straight to the coil but still nothing. In the keep your VW alive book
> >>>>it mentions fuse #15. Where is that? I only have 12 in the fuse box.
> >>>>Thanks again
>
> >>> I've completely lost track of the original story
> >>> without the original post quoted.
> >>> Is there spark at the coil when cranking?
>
> >>> Fuse #15 refers to one of the in-line fuses hung off the Coil.
> >>> That's for the vacuum solenoid circuit and doesn't affect the spark.
>
> >>> There is *no* fuse in the circuit feeding power to the Coil.
>
> >>>Speedy Jim
> >>>http://www.nls.net/mp/volks/
>
> > Hi. Sorry about deleting posts. I guess you guys are viewing things
> > differently to me. I see all the posts together and when the posts
> > have all the replies in them I have to scroll down heaps to get to the
> > most current, so I thought it would annoy everyone to include all the
> > old posts, so I deleted them. I'll keep em now.I'm using Google Groups
> > by the way.
> > Anyway, just to check I have this set up right, on my coil I have one
> > side with three lugs. One is the black wire that provides the power,
> > one goes to the auto, and there are two wires together on the last
> > one. I don't know where they are going. On the other side are two lugs
> > with one wire going to the condenser on the distributer (which is new
> > as well as new points, rotor and cap which were all working sweet and
> > I tuned it all up) When the ignition is on I get around 12 volts on my
> > voltmeter (positive to the black wire lug, neg to earth) I am getting
> > no spark when I take the fat centre wire out at the distributor end
> > and hold it 1mm away from an earth. I verified the earth was good with
> > the voltmeter also. I hanged the fat black wire with one from my other
> > working car. no spark. Also I took all the wires off the lugs as you
> > suggested except the black one bringing the power and the green one to
> > condenser. Still nothing. I swapped the coil from the working car.
> > nothing. I put my vw coil in the other car - worked. When the coil is
> > in the vw it feels warm. Don't know if that's normal or not.
> > I tried to shove the positive from the voltmeter in where the fat
> > black wire was in the coil. Still nothing (although I didn't know what
> > to set the voltmeter on for that.) The thing is the vw coil worked in
> > the other car! Also the auto clutch ain't engaging but there is power
> > to it as the lug is the same one the black power in wire is connected
> > to. It used to whirr around just with the ignition turned on, car not
> > started. Could it be some kind of short? As you can no doubt tell, I'm
> > no expert, but learning always and I really appreciate you guys taking
> > time out to help.
> > Andrew
>
> Quote: "It used to whirr around just with the ignition turned on,
> car not started."
>
> What does this mean?? The starter whirred?
>
> Back to square #1. Does the starter crank the engine?
>
> -----------------------
>
> As for spark, read this article on my web site:
> "Why won't my engine start?"
>
> Skip down to the No Spark section.
> Step-by-step tests. Easy Peasy
>
> -----------------------
>
> Coil will normally get warm.
>
> The auto clutch won't activate unless the engine
> is running since the clutch needs engine vacuum.
>
> -------------------------
>
> Post back with any more clues or symptoms and
> with what further tests show.
>
> Speedy Jimhttp://www.nls.net/mp/volks/

Sorry, I meant with the key turned on but engine not running, and then
I move the gearstick I could hear the gear change servo thing whirring
in the back. But it doesn't now. The starter motor turns over fine.
I'll check your site out. Thanks.