I was checking the timing on the beetle's 1600 yesterday. I put white paint dots on the flywheel to make it easy to see where to time to. I noticed that the dots were jumping side to side in the strobe flash: one rev to the left, one rev to the right, flicking side to side alternately. The dots were moving a few mm (maybe about 3 or 4 degrees worth).

What would cause this?

how did you do it with the flywheel? is the motor out of the car?

if it was by the pully and its stock there are two markings on it one of which is tdc and the other isnt..

nick

Can be a number of things, dirty points/leads plugs etc.
Could also be condensor on the way out or wear in the dissy making it jump around.
What's the dwell like? Stable?

Does it settle down under load??


009 or VAC??

Could also be sticky counterweights / diaphram


Do you have a spare dizzy??

For $100 - whack in a new 009

[ Edited on 17-5-2006 by Bizarre ]

009. I don't have a spare but I'm considering replacing all the ignition parts at the end of the year, including a new dizzy.

No idea about how it looks under load: how am I supposed to watch the timing marks while driving it up a steep hill with the mother-in-law in the passenger seat? It doesn't settle down at higher RPM if that's what you mean.

The 009 is purely mechanical adv. It has weights that advance the ign via centrifugal force. They r held back by a couple of springs. At idle, the centr. force is minimal so the springs should hold the ign adv steady so I'd have a guess they starting to sag. My 1st reaction is so what? If it's idling OK & the ign advances OK when u rev up (the timing mark/light moves to the right) then the next stage is to road test for adequate power & no pre-ignition (pinging).
If it aint broke dont fix it!

Yeah it idles OK (although slightly rough), it drives well (although sometimes withe the flat spot you expect from a 009), and yes the timing does advance with higher revs.

Hi,
A 009 Distributor must be timed at MAXIMUM advance..
You need to mark around 31-32 degrees to the Right of the TDC mark... this is about 49.5mm...
Rev the engine until it hits maximum adance, by using the timing light...
This is why 009s are crap....
They cannot be timed for idle....
and are all mechanical....
VW made engines with Vaccum & Mechanical advance distributors.... a 009 is only half the dizzy of the originals..
If Your 009 won't reach 32 degrees, just advance it as far as it will go...

Lee