--Points magically burning up--

RobM · Post by **RobM** » Fri Nov 30, 2007 12:44 pm

So, my '66 was coughing and back-firing occasionally. The mechanic at a local shop said he thought it was rust/dirt from the gas tank so he added another filter to the fuel line.

I took it for a little test-drive on the freeway and it worked well for a few miles then got worse and worse. She was sputtering and coughing in a terrible way. By the time I got her off the freeway and to a town, she wasn't going anywhere. I was checking the fuel flow and a guy walked by and told me it was the ignition. He said he could tell by the sound that the points were burned. He took a quick look, used the pulley to rotate the engine by-hand while holding the coil wire by the engine and said, 'Yep. Weak spark. The burned points show that your condenser is going bad.'

We filed the points and she fired-up like a new car! (He'd worked for a VW shop growing up.)

So I talked to the previous owner (After replacing the points and condenser, of course) and he said that he'd replaced them several times when he owned the vehicle (She was an on-going project for him too). He'd tried cheap ones and the most expensive ones, but they all seemed to burn up.

Now I know these things don't 'just happen'. There's an electrical reason somewhere. Anyone have any ideas?

Post by **jmartini** » Sat Dec 01, 2007 2:57 pm

Hi Rob - It makes sense to me that it could be a bad condensor, the points and condensor should always be replaced at the same time - not sure if that could be the problem or not. I looked in the compleat idiot book but couldn't find anyting on points burning up - sorry. Perhaps someone else has had an experience like this and can shed some light on it.

volksbugusa · Post by **volksbugusa** » Sun Dec 02, 2007 5:40 am

rob
what type of distributor is in the car....factory 6 volt....or a 009
Sounds like a bad distributor! If the points burn out again I would do the following
-if it is factory send the distributor to glenn for a rebuild and calibration .................glenn@glenn-ring.com
-if it a cheap 009 non German---throw it in the garbage..that's where it belongs
-buy a new distributor from glenn
-try solid state

matt
volksbugusa

Post by **jmartini** » Sun Dec 02, 2007 6:16 am

Here was another interesting thread on line about points burning up:

http://groups.google.com/group/rec.autos.makers.
vw.aircooled/browse_thread/thread/399d5f7c2368a740/efa413a0f21ecd10?#efa413a0f21ecd10

RobM · Post by **RobM** » Sun Dec 02, 2007 12:51 pm

Thanks guys I'll clean them and look them over.

RobM · Post by **RobM** » Fri Dec 07, 2007 3:10 am

jmartini wrote:Here was another interesting thread on line about points burning up:

http://groups.google.com/group/rec.autos.makers.
vw.aircooled/browse_thread/thread/399d5f7c2368a740/
efa413a0f21ecd10?#efa413a0f21ecd10

The note about cleaning off any oil hit home. My feeler gauge is new and covered in oil (I haven't needed one in 30 years!). I cleaned them with a little rubbing alcohol and a cue-tip after re-gaping them and it's running great for the moment. I'm just conserned about longivity. If they burn up too often I'll probably replace them with a solid state unit.

Now that I've had time to read over Muir's book I found the same warning in there about cleaning the oil off.

Anyone have a guesstamet about how long a set of points should last in a bug?

volksbugusa · Post by **volksbugusa** » Fri Dec 07, 2007 3:16 am

4000 miles

RobM · Post by **RobM** » Fri Dec 07, 2007 10:56 am

volksbugusa wrote:4000 miles

Thanks

scruffy · Post by **scruffy** » Fri Dec 07, 2007 6:32 pm

12000 miles is recomended, oil change every 3.I change oil every 1500 and tuneup when she starts to sputterstill runs good about 20000 on her.

Post by **jmartini** » Sat Dec 08, 2007 4:08 am

Right, I always got a year or 12000 out of mine.

scruffy · Post by **scruffy** » Sat Dec 08, 2007 8:13 am

Yea John, but you know me i'm cheap! I can save the sqeel out of a hog come butchering time.

Post by **jmartini** » Sat Dec 08, 2007 8:19 am

Well it wasn't that I was cheap but they just lasted that long, but I always inspected them at each oil change. Remind me not to eat hot dogs at your house

RobM · Post by **RobM** » Sat Dec 08, 2007 11:18 am

scruffy wrote:12000 miles is recomended, oil change every 3.I change oil every 1500 and tuneup when she starts to sputterstill runs good about 20000 on her.

- Thanks guys.
- Thinking back to the times when these were just everyday cars and everyone had to check points, I recall my Dad changing--or at least pulling, filing, gaping, and greasing--plugs and points every 10,000 miles.

- But I didn't know if that was normal or just his schedule.

volksbugusa · Post by **volksbugusa** » Tue Jan 01, 2008 6:13 am

Robm
How are the points doing?
Matt
Volksbugusa

RobM · Post by **RobM** » Tue Jan 01, 2008 7:33 am

volksbugusa wrote:Robm
How are the points doing?
Matt
Volksbugusa

Running perfectly, Thanks.