hi everybody.
Um my beetle seems to be starting really dead like bera bera bera broom ding ding ding ding .like its sounds dead when turning over but starts fine.We thought it was battery as it was down to 11.5volts so we charged it to full.now its doing it again and the battery should be good.Is there anything else that would replicate the same affect as a low battery.
Thanks.

The starter motor might be dodgy?

how old is battery?
have you checked the levels in all the cells?

generator or reg might be getting lazy too
time to upgrage that dinosaur to an altenator

yeah battery all checked out,good cells and all.nah i don't think it is the starter,yeah an alternator would be good with electronic ignition. what do you mean by reg? by the way do you need an alternator for electronic dizzy?

reg - voltage regulator, under the backseat of the left

you dont need an alternator for electronic ignition but theyre a good idea for any daily driven vw
they're getting cheaper all the time, are higher output than gennys and also much more efficient

is that voltage regulator a little box like thing.i will eventually go for electronic ignition and alternator with new leads ,so depends on when the cash is availible.? so what am i spose to check on this reg? cheers

theres not really much you can check with them except the points inside which are like whats in the dizzy

these used to gum up a bit in damp weather in my first bug which caused low charge and dim red light at idle

alternators now are all internally regulated and so dont need an external reg like the original factory ones

oh ok i see.so you can pull them apart i might go have a look this afternoon.
Thanks for your help.

yeah i checked that,didnt seem much wrong with it.so i dont know any more.

Back to your original problems and your original question.

PROBLEMS THAT MAY GIVE THE IMPRESSION OF A FAILED BATTERY:

A FAILED BATTERY - if the battery is more than 3 years old I would start to suspect it, especially if it has had anything but regular use, healthy charge levels, and healthy electrolyte levels. Question - you say it checks out ok, was it load tested at an auto electricians?

POOR CONNECTIONS - disconnect the battery negative for this work. Loosen, inspect, clean, re-tighten the following:
1) battery negative terminal (dont put it back on just yet though!!),
2) negative lead to floor pan,
3) earth strap from chassis to transaxle.
4) Check tightness of starter motor bolts to transaxle.
5) Positive large cable on starter solenoid,
6) Positive connection on battery.

POOR CHARGING SYSTEM, poor generator or alternator output - measure BATTERY POST volts with engine running, with respect to the ideal charge volts of around 13.6 volts at the battery posts. It may be around 12.5v at idle, but should be steady 13.5 to 13.8 at all revs above 1000 rpm ( normal driving revs). Check again with headlights on, does it drop back to 12 volts? This would mean that if all the connections are ok the charge output is not keeping up anymore. = faulty regulator or alternator.

EXCESS DRAIN CURRENT WHEN PARKED. - a wiring or component fault may be draining the charge as the car sits. This will not only flatten the battery between runs, but degrade the battery as they dont like deep charge cycles. Shorten battery life.
A technically minded person is required to prove or disprove this (without shorting something ut and causing more damage).

ADVICE: A volt meter mounted on the dash is a really good way to monitor battery charge and condition, and avoid surprises. Get used to what is a healthy charge and what is not. Mid 13's is good, low 12's or lower is no good.

Wow,thanks for your help.not sure what to do now.I'm pretty sure at this stage that it is the battery.But my voltmeter broke a few months back so cant check it.I didnt realize how high the battery should be.I have a generator not an alternator.And because we have been fixing little things here and there it just gets a small run in the shed.Its needs new terminals they dont look the best,and there is a possibility that the battery is older than 3 years.

At the moment i am really looking towards either a new dizzy with electronic ignition,or just a ignition module and install it myself.But Money is running low at the moment.Would you recommend an alternator over a generator?.i also intend on getting new leads as they are still originals.Sparks plug were changed when i purchased the beetle(clemy).
Thanks.

If I understand your problem (bera bera bera broom ding ding ding ding) and it is slow cranking and thats all you want to fix, then dont waste your time and money on ignition components.
You say its not getting any runs, that will stress even a healthy battery, it needs a run or regular charge-ups while it lives in the shed.
Batteries dont last forever, they are a consumeable. If its over 3 years old, and giving you trouble...replace it. Then put a volt meter on the dash somewhere and work out if your generator or alternator is providing a healthy charge.

{update}
I just got back from my dad towing my beetle home.I was going for a cruise to give it a run and charge the battery.I started heading home and boom boom ding ding ding br br br.lol its started to break down.I nursed it almost all the way home stopping about 500metres from my house.went to start it again and beeera beeera dead battery sound,and a bad noise coming from the engine compartment.Got towed home,and my grandfather was there who is a motor mechanic and has done most of the major engine work to my car.He diagnosed the problem as the noise coming from the back was coming from the generator,like a bearing or something.And well the reason it wouldn't turn over was the battery,because as soon as we connected the jumper leads to my dad's car she fired up straight away,still the noise in the back though.I am yet to pull the gen belt off and give it a turn to see if i can hear anything,But so far we reckon the battery is most likely stuffed,or the gen is not charging as it should.Occasional miss fires and breakdowns at top rev due to bad battery resulting in bad spark.NOW I know i will get a lot of feedback from this .but please i tried to explain this the best i could and some of the words i used are probably not right.LOL anyway that is where my beetle stands at this moment.Thinking of changing to an alternator.and new battery.
Have a good day cheers.hope you enjoyed my novel

Older ignition and charging systems comprise of points ignition and generator. Points ignition will still operate at lower voltages like 8volts, and generators are not high capacity chargers. So they work well together in an older technological and reliable way. Low battery or even push start and your car is off and running.

Moving on to a more modern way, you have alternators with inbuilt regulators and electronic ignition systems. You need everything to be in a more optimum condition. Battery showing 12.6 volts is fully charged. The Alternator will go up to 13.8-14 volts when charging.

so what are you saying keeping it original is the way to go?

could it be the coil getting hot? it only happens once the engine gets warm.(normal)

So it sounds like your generator self destructed.....mechanically... not electrically... simple really.

If the generator has catastrophically failed, replace it with whatever your budget will allow, and then see if your battery will live through the trauma and continue to do its job given a healthy diet of jolts...I mean volts....