Well... went to leave work just now, and my car won't start. Starter motor fine, but no spark happening so she won't fire up.
Spoke to my wonderful mechanic, and he said it sounds like the points have closed up a bit (had this happen last trip to mech) so no spark can get through. She's being towed there again! :cry

What I'd like to know, is whether I should get electronic ignition put in, and what brand is a good one.
Last time I asked for my mechanic to put it in, he didn't want to as he said if my car dies, nothing I do will make it start enough to get home. Whereas with good 'ol points, you can usually get it home. Is this the case? If my points are being stupid as they have been, should I go with electronic ignition?

Help! Replies needed quickly before tow truck gets here, so I know what to tell my mech.

Thank you....

[ Edited on 11/12/2005 by Pretty_Blue_Bug ]

A good condition distributor with points serviced at least every 10,000 should never break down unless their is a reason.

I had the original coil die in our old beetle, but never had a dizzy die in any of our 4 cars with them. (although the bus now hasn't got one)

I have also had a spark plug dud out on me in the bus a couple of years ago, it was a Bosch "made in India" ?????

I have had points close up or burn a bit, but the erattic motor behaviour always signified the problem before any sudden no go situation.

Thanx for the quick reply Pete!

I had my old coil and condenser thing die, they were replaced. Now has a Bosch coil which has been great.

Last time my car was driving shit, there was a huge flat spot/lack of power when accelerating, no matter what gear... was idling like crap too. My points were burning a bit and closing up, so all was fixed and she's been awesome to drive. About a week ago, noticed lack of power again in accleration but was nothing like it was before. Was hoping she'd make it through Xmas/New Year so I could get her serviced, but no such luck!

Sounds like it could be the dizzy causing these problems..... but would it be worth eliminating points altogether?

Forgive my lack of VW knowledge.... too much has happened with my car too fast for me to keep up!



[ Edited on 9/12/2005 by Pretty_Blue_Bug ]

If the points are burning out quickly, then the condensor needs replacing.

It's a good idea to always replace the condensor at the same time as replacing the points. It only costs a dollar or two and you've got the screwdriver in your hand anyway!

You say you have a Bosch coil, but did you know there is a huge range in quality of "Bosch" coils? Have a look at this web page which compares several of them:
http://www.ratwell.com/technical/BlueCoil.html 

To answer your other question: a lot of people seem to think that Pertronix is a good brand if you go electronic.

My pertronix died recently. Had to replace it. I had Points before that and they always got me home (even if it was rough as guts). My 2c

condensors are around $12 at kmart, I was going to buy one when they had 25% off auto last week, but I didn't know which one I needed
Alex suggests that possibly the regulator or alternator are sad.....maybe.....at a guess

Well, I feel like a right idiot!

On Friday my mechanic checked everything out (thinking it was mainly the points)..... turns out my auto choke had jammed on! Hahaha
Usually I check this first when anything isn't right when starting my Bug... and the one time I didn't ends up being the one time it's what was the problem! :P

So yeah, all is great again... drives like a charm.

LOL!
What a relief eh, something nice and easy.

Yep, don't want anything big and yukky for quite some time!! :P

Just a question, a little on the topic...

If the coil was stuffed, would that stuff the condensor which in time burn your points out?

Yes, that's what happened to me. My coil was dying giving me no end of minor problems.... this in turn stuffed the condenser, causing bigger problems and these caused the points to burn and close up.
Since having the new coil (it's the Bosch red one) and condenser, and points all has been good.
The lead to the coil was weird too Friday.... discovered the resistance was too high so that was fixed too (not enough spark getting through or something?)....