Hey guys I am new here. I bought my first 914 with a 1.8L a few months ago. I have slowly been working on the body on the weekends and trying to get it back looking and driving good. It has always started right up and ran fine. I took it for a little illegal victory lap around the neighborhood this weekend and pulled it back into the garage...now it WILL NOT RE-START. No funny noises, cranks over fine..just wont hit.It appears to be getting gas into the single solex carb. Any suggestions on where to start??Coil?
Thanks!
Todd

If it is getting fuel maybe the distributor loosened and moved? Maybe the points came loose and are out of adjustment? The coil I am sure is just fine. Look at all of the connections though and attach a dwell meter and read the dwell when cranking at 50 degrees on the four cylinder scale.

It's all about fuel, spark and mechanical issues. You indicate you have good fuel delivery and the mechanical parts sound good. So are you getting any spark? Check the spark for each plug one at a time.

Let us know what you find.

Eric

Look under the cap. I smell a Pertronix burning.

Ok...Thanks for your replies. Seems to be a consensus here about my distrubutor cap /points. I really dont know much about them but, I will look closer at it tonight. I did make sure all wire connections were on and tight on both sides of the coil, but that was as far as I went. Thanks for your suggestions and help. Much appreciated. Auto Atlanta (Dr 914)...I will be buying many items in the next few months from you , such as outer rocker panel covers, weatherstripping, hood emblem, side stripes and interior pieces.
THX!

Welcome to the World Okie!

If ya can't get it running, let me know, cause I can. Always enjoy a road trip.

Sounds like a failed condenser to me. I smoked my hot spark unit (my fault) and had to put points back in. At first, the thing ran just fine. Now it not just falls on it's face at 4.5K, it almost like it want to slow you down. I'm doing a condenser tonight myself to try. I know these guys say they don't fail, but it's just a capacitor. They are old if original, and very cheap to replace.

Curt, I bought a new Borg Warner condensor and finally got time to put in in last night. I re-assembled the cap and tried to start...nothing. I poped the cap back off and went and got my wife and had her turn the key and watched. I have no spark on the contacts/points as they open and close. I did notice that everytime she let off the key it would spark once. Any thoughts. I took the coil off and was going to price one today? Am I on the right track? Should I also replace to points? They appear to be new looking and the surfaces where they spark look good. Cone Dodger said "look under the cap I smell Petronix burning". What should I be looking for there?

petronix is an aftermarket pointless ignition system for the 914. It replaces the points with magnets and a hall sensor, but if you wire it backwards you fry the transistors inside the sensor. sounds like you have points though.

Anyone have the primary and secondary resistance specs on his coil so he can use a multi meter to test it?

...........A.A. (george ), made the suggestion to check the dwell.Did you do that?...If that is a little over your head......CHECK THE POINT GAP....it should be .016 ths of an inch....measured at /when the points open on the high side of the distributor LOBE.(if you do not have a feeler guage use a MATCH COVER,- COVER). they are close enough to get you running.---Then verify two things 1) there is fuel in the gas tank.2).You have a decently charged battery..3). check to ensure the ROTOR (in the distributor) will MOVE.back and fourth easily....AND (to help) which /what distributor are you using......M.M...intrested in the fix.

woops you just hit it. Bad ignition switch!!!!!!!!!

[quote name='dr914@autoatlanta.com' date='Feb 26 2010, 11:07 AM' post='1279377']
[quote name='ddot914' post='1279323' date='Feb 26 2010, 07:29 AM']
[quote name='vsg914' post='1277291' date='Feb 22 2010, 01:48 PM']
Welcome to the World Okie!

If ya can't get it running, let me know, cause I can. Always enjoy a road trip.
[/quote]
Curt, I bought a new Borg Warner condensor and finally got time to put in in last night. I re-assembled the cap and tried to start...nothing. I poped the cap back off and went and got my wife and had her turn the key and watched. I have no spark on the contacts/points as they open and close. I did notice that everytime she let off the key it would spark once. Any thoughts. I took the coil off and was going to price one today? Am I on the right track? Should I also replace to points? They appear to be new looking and the surfaces where they spark look good. Cone Dodger said "look under the cap I smell Petronix burning". What should I be looking for there?
[/quote]

woops you just hit it. Bad ignition switch!!!!!!! ............."when she let off the switch I saw it spark ONCE"......I have never personally had a defective ignition switch.....But /So this is what it does!!!put under I didn't know that!!!.I love to learn new things............M.M.

Hey thanks for your comments/suggestions. I did not check the dwell. I looked at the point gap and it "appears" to be about the thickness of a matchbook when fully opened. I do have a feeler guage and will check and see if it is .o16 if an inch tonight. I do have fuel in tank and my battery is good (I put it on trickle last night while installing condensor to make sure). Turns the motor good. Admittingly, I do not know what I am doing, but I hooked a multimeter set on "20" up to the coil (it is out of the car). Touching the Pos to Neg terminals it reads "0". When I insert the either lead wire into the plug wire hole and on either Pos or neg terminal on coil it reads 2.93. Thoughts?

I wouldn't put a "Borg Warner" condenser in my bicycle, much less a car. Get a Bosch, and be sure it's the correct one for your distributor. BTW, condenser failure in VWs, Porsches, and other cars using Bosch ignition components is so rare as to be the very last thing you need to replace. I think I've sold fewer than a dozen here at the shop in 35 years. If the points are/were terribly pitted, a condenser might be in order.

If you have no spark, the first thing to check is power to the (+) side of the coil. ONE large diameter black wire. Next, look at the point (-) side. 2 wires, one from the condenser, one from the tach (smaller black with a violet stripe). Then, pull the cap and check the breaker plate ground strap (vacuum controlled distributors only). Make sure the points are CLEAN and properly gapped. Make sure the little mark on the lip of the distributor lines up with the center of the rotor tip when the engine's on TDC cylinder #1. Oh, and make sure the distributor is pushed down fully into the case. I'm guessing you had it out to replace the condenser ...........

Do this stuff, report back.

The Cap'n

Finally a topic I can chime in on...

Dr914 is right. I had a similar problem with a different car. Car would not start, but every time I turned the ignition back to the off position, it would fire once. Chased that issue for over a year until I replaced the ignition switch. Found some wires had got hot and some of the insulation was in bad shape as well.

Changed the switch out with a new - name brand - switch and all has been well since.

Regards,
Tom

Tom,
Was the "different" car a 914 also? Can you tell me where you got your switch and how it was to put it? How costly$$$$$???
Thanks,
Todd

Ok guys. I have installed a new condensor, new coil, set my gap at .016 and it still will not start. I ordered a new ignition switch from Dr. 914 AA and awaiting it's arrival. I removed the stering wheel, wiper and blinker assembly to gain access to the key tumbler and ignition switch. I printed off a "how to" from Pelican and it was very useful. One problem...mine is a 75 and getting the key tumbler and switch out is a little different then earlier models. It does not screw in. You have to turn the key and manupilate it a little and the whole thing comes off. My stering wheel wobbles up and down so while I am in there I ordered a part that Dr. 914 said would fix it. Another thing, the seat belt saftey swich under the passenger seat I unhooked while I was working on it. I did drive it around with it off. It made the buzzer go off when ever the passenger door was open. Now I plugged it back in and it does not buzz with the door open. Do I need another switch???????? attached are pic of the cracked ignition switch and the seat belt saftey switch.

Find the work around for the seat belt switch. The car won't start supposedly with it disconnected.

Hello Todd,

Sorry, I just checked this thread...

No, it was not a 914 - it was a 1975 Dodge powered motorhome - Sportscoach - so I'm no help to cost, but I would have ordered mine from the Dr. as well. The ones on ebay are not of good quality. Working with the key / steering column is something I don't like to do and you certainly do not want to have to go back in there because the NEW part you just installed does not work.

Regards,
Tom

bump

HELP! I installed the new ignition switch and put everything back together in the column. When I turn the key the motor wants to run. It is firing! YEAH! It will start and idle roughly and die. I re-set my points by rolling the car in gear to get the gap open to it widest point from the cam lobe. I set it with a feeler gage at .016. Should be close enough to start and run? I never pulled the distributer out. On top of that...now I hear a slight screach and smell rubber burning while it is coughing and sputterig then dying. It has to be from a belt. Anyone ever experience this before?????? Like I said at the begining of this post...It ran fine when I pulled it into the garage and shut it off with the key. Wow what a journey this has proven to be. Help or comments appreciated.

alternator belt is slipping. Check the plug wires for correct routing. Does it backfire?

Would the belt be slipping because it idles sooo poorly and coughing/sputtering? I do not think it was slipping before all this stuff started. No smell anyways. I have not experienced a single back fire yet.... I have not unhooked any of the plug wires off of the rotor cap or plugs. I guess I could have the distributer cap put back on 180 off. Hmmmm? Worth a try. I have had the cap off about 20 times, it's a possibility it could be backwards.

................Is it possable the alternator belt is slipping because the alternator, bearings seized?...and the alternator took a dump....drained the battery....and this is the reason the car died and would not restart after sitting overnight....OR...the alternator belt is so loose....it,s not turning the alternator, and not charging the battery...............Murray

Well the plot thickens! I threw in the towel and asked a friend/mechanic to come over and help. All the repairs and parts I put in were correct. Coil, ignition switch, condensor, points and gap all looked good. He susspected secondary ignition system issues. He ran electrical tests and found that I was getting 12 volts on both sides of the system to coil and distributor. He says that I should get 12 volt only when the key is turned to the start position to spin the starter, then when the key is released the voltage should drop to 9.3 volts. This is causing my points to overheat and melt the rubber insulator (orange in picture) Click to view attachmentrod on the points. We flipped them around and adjusted/rigged them to run with insulator in place and it ran fine for a minute or two then it got hot again and melted away the insulation and caused it to ground itself out again. He suggested a universal "ballest resistor" to put in line before going back into the distributor to reduce voltage, OR upgrading to the 12 volt electronic ignition like the pertronix system. Anyone even experience this????? the rubber buring smell mentioned earlier was just a case of loose alt belt....