erratic idle, brakes sticking, generator problems......I need HELP!!!

'76 had Fuel Injection. Has this been carbed? Single?

Also after

Either the pedal freeplay is insufficient ~1/4" or else the quarter-century old brake hoses have clogged due to rubber swelling.

Also the generator light

Could be regulator (BTW, '76 came with an alternator originally). If it *does* have a generator, do the tests on my web site.

No, I doubt that you're stupid :-)

Speedy Jim

It's carbed. Single carb. Also I'm positive that it has a generator, I'll try your tests as some as I can scrape up a voltmeter. Also there is quite a bit of play in the brake pedal, the parking brake was stuck on when I bought it and I hit the rear backing plates and it seemed to come unstuck. I also can feel some play in the steering wheel and hear some rattle up front. I'll probably do some more thorough inspection soon.

If your vehicle sat for 4 years chances are you need to clean/ reassemble the carburetor. It's not a terribly difficult job to do but you need a repair kit, a gallon of the berry's "Chem-Dip" and a couple cans of regular spray carb clenner, and access to compressed air to really clean it up right.

Dragging brakes could be caused by hanging wheel cylinders, rubber brake hoses that are going bad, or a mis-adjusted master cylinder pushrod. There must be a bit of play between the pushrod and the master cylinder. Check that first. Just because the pedal goes a long way before the brakes grab doesn't mean that the clearance between the pushrod and the MC is correct.

As for the rest of the braking system, if in doubt, change the hoses and rebuild/replace the wheel cylinders. It will give you the opportunity to also service/inspect the front wheel bearings and check the drums/shoes on all 4 wheels. The hardest part of this job for a newbie is removing the axle nuts on the rear wheels, which must be tightened down properly or you will destroy the drums in short order. I have one of the 36mm "slug wrenches" welded to the end of a jack handle to get this job done, and that works quite well but you can also use an impact wrench if you have one.

I think the 76 models have a rack and pinion steering system if you have a super beetle. If you have a standard bug you should have a regular torsion beam front end. Finding out where the play is isn't all that hard, you need someone in the car to move the wheel back and forth through the play and you crawl underneath and start feeling where the movement is(or isn't). A quick thing to do is check the front end with the car on the ground. Grab the tire at the top and push/pull. If you feel any sort of play and/or hear a clunk you have a problem that needs to be addressed with the suspension.

Needless to say, being able to stop in a predictable manner is more important than being able to go. As such, I would suggest fixing up the brake system first, and then start on the issues with your engine dying at idle.

Chris