Ok, the story in a nutshell... 1300 out of one bug and into another. When it was in the other bug it ran (last time was about 6 months ago, but it worked then).
Now, it turns over, there appears to be spark, and fuel..but its not firing up.
Any ideas??

Is there any noise at all??

bangs... pops .... farts or wheezes???

"there appears to be spark" - what do you mean by this??
Is there a nice healthy blue spark when you pull one of the plug leads off???

Did you redo the the valves, points and timing???

Spark + fuel + compression MUST equal a going motor if the proportions are right

No noise.
Yes, healthy looking blue spark when pulling a plug lead off.
Didn't touch the valves, new points with a decent looking spark, didn't touch the timing.

Fresh fuel.....check the plugs for fouling or cleanliness

Is it tru that if the carbi is dry, u need to pour some fuel in it to make it run if it hasn't been ran in a while?

Works for my mates golf.
Turn the engine, while pouring a bit of fuel into the carby (take the airfilter off), and maybe, just maybe. Tis what my mate does.

Is this a good thing to do at all? lol

the fuel is fresh, I filled the tank a week ago. We tried the fuel in the carby trick...didn't seem to do much

hmmm....I'd check the firing order/spark again in case something was "overlooked"...it will be something simple.Definetly check the plugs...sitting around doesn't do them many favours:blush GOOD LUCK

what happens when you turn the crank pulley by hand??

Can you feel compression???

When you pull the plugs are they wet??

Sounds like
1) no compression - unlikely if it was a running motor
2) no spark at plug - could be fouled.

BUT

if you replaced the points you MUST redo the timing.

The points is what affect the timing.

You CANT replace points without redoing the timing

also check the automatic choke unit...
is the choke working?

Turn the ignition ON - feel if the automatic choke is warm/hot....
Now, air cleaner off...
When looking down the carby throat, the first butterfly flap should open... [choke flap]
Once open, look down into the throat of the carby and press the throttle cable down/in...
This will activate the accelerate pump... & You will see the fuel getting sprayed into the inlet manifold...

If the flap doesn't open.... choke not working... or wire off...
or... choke not adjusted correctly...

If You don't see the fuel being sprayed...
chances are You have no fuel in the carburetor bowl....

Is the wire connected to the electromagnetic fuel cutoff valve???
Fuel pump not working.... fuel line blocked...

If You have poured a small amount of fuel down the carburetor, and the engine doesn't fire...
sounds like no spark... too little spark... or the ignition timing is way Out....

Coil is connected correctly.... + to ignition power wire...

Condenser is still there....? carbon button still in the top of the distributor cap... inside...?
Distributor rotor button still on top of shaft in Dizzy?

With little spark.... little fuel.... spark plug wires on wrong plugs etc....
the engine will still fire... it may not run...

but if You have
Spark - Fuel & Air - the engine should kick. fire or run.....

so something IS missing..??

Lee



[ Edited on 10-6-2006 by 68AutoBug ]

Thanks heaps for all the suggestions!! They will be put into action tomorrow and will report back on results
It's going to be soooo nice to have a car with a heater finally!

sounds like me recently.....my problem turned out to be more sinister after i got it started.

but like everyone has said.

pull off your coil lead and hold it a couple of mm away from the body of the car and either crank the engine by hand or get someone to turn the key and check u have a nice solid blue spark.

if you have spark. set your tappets .006 . even if u didnt touch them prior to putting the engine back in. try to get everything as close to exact as possibly as when u have 3 or 4 things thatare close but not exact they all add up.

after tappets set your points gap. then statically re set your timing. after setting timing pull your plugs. if u have fuel they should be wet with fuel.

if they are black and corroded replace them (spark plugs are cheap) re set spark plug gap.

now check spark at one of the plug ends the same way you did with the coil lead. good solid spark?


like barry said the 3 things needed for a running engine are spark, fuel and compression. at least one of these isnt functioning properly or you wouldnt have a problem.

Our unleaded fuel has so many additives that the fuel goes off very quickly.....

Your carburetor could be blocked with the gunk that is left after the old fuel evaporates...

It can block up the galleries the fuel flows thru....

and can cause permenant damage to the carby...

Lee

Definitely check the choke as Lee suggested. I had issues with my Bug one fine day, wanted to turn over but just couldn't... got her towed and what do you know? Stupid choke had jammed! Didn't I feel like a right idiot, even my mechanic was embarrassed.

Well, Its going!
It ended up being one of those DOH moments! We changed the plugs, checked everything, but the one thing that wasn't done was setting the dizzy back to the marks that had been made by himself 6 months ago!
It started beautifully after that, have a heater, though it feels a bit gutless compared to what it was before.
Some of the shortcuts taken by the previous mechanic when they put in the old motor were pretty shocking!
Thanks for all the help peoples :beer

:sandrine

Well done

good to hear.

Good to see You have it going....


Its far better to fix something Yourself than take it to a NON VW trained mechanic....

They don't have a clue.....

and can cause more problems by guessing.... :o:o

Lee

The man (Mr_hip) is a pro at fords etc, this was his first vw changeover though He did a great job.
Now we just have to work out why the demister fan isn't working and put in the little heater vents at the front...but thats a job we'll leave for another day.
Another question, does anyone else hear a little ticking noise from their regulator (the box under the passenger side rear sear) at all?

No

Check it out - something wrong if it ticks

i keep forgetting - you have an L bug, a 1303??

99% will be a dead fan. They fill up the chamber with water and die

We'll get hold of another regulator then
and hopefully the fan in the donor bug is a goer....*fingers crossed*
I have a 1973 "superbug"... we've just put in a 1300. it had a "914" motor in it before.

[ Edited on 11/6/2006 by hipichic ]

hes talking about your demister fan

id try a different regulator. but before you do that check that all the wires are on and on in the correct places.

I just realised that and edited the post to hide my silliness

The wires all appear to be right, we double checked when it came off the other car.

Glad it's all good, yay to mr_hip!

he did a fantastic job