no spark at start for long periods

I forgot to mention that I tried testing the old coil per the Bentley manual. It said I should see 12 volts at the negative terminal of the coil when cranking. I saw 12 volts with the ignition on, but it dropped almost in half when cranking. I haven't yet checked to see if I get the same result with the new coil, but I will. I suspect it's the same.

John

Look for bad ground connections. Or gnd the ignition directly on the neg. of the battery......

SFC

"John Livingston" schreef in bericht news: snipped-for-privacy@news.east.cox.net...

check for power at the ign. coil while cranking with ign. switch If power disappears, somewhere in the wiring from the ign. switch to the coil has a problem. I know that the A1s, at least the early ones, had some fuse box problems. Not sure on your Cabriolet though.

and try a remote starter switch with the ign. on to see if you get spark. You might even try a wire straight from the ign. switch to the ign. coil for a longer test. ;-)

which fuel injection system are you running? Original 86?

later, dave Reminder........ Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you criticize them, you are a mile away from them, and you have their shoes. Frieda Norris

I'm using the '86 FI system.

Power to the coil when cranking doesn't disappear, but it drops sharply and varies quite a bit (I think it was down to something like 5 to 8 volts). The manual says to check this at the #1 terminal of the coil, which is negative. My knowledge of the wiring for a coil is pretty limited. Would it make sense to run my remote starter directly from the positive terminal of the battery to one of the terminals on the coil (which one?) and then hit the remote starter button while cranking with the ignition switch? I've tried this already, but I'm not sure I got a good connection.

I tried starting using the remote starter normally connected way back when the problem first cropped up, but saw no difference with spark at that point. I'll try it again since that was before I replaced the ignition switch and some other bits.

I was aware of the A1 fuse box problems and was waiting to see if someone else mentioned them. When I first fiddled with the fuse box, I did notice some moisture (I think the problem typically lies with water getting in via the radio antenna). I tried just running a forced-air heater on the thing for a while, with no improvement. I've pulled and reseated relays, but found the rear connections tough to get at and only pulled a few of those. I'm checking on the price of a new one from Adirondack. I also checked to see if there were any recalls on these for that, but found none.

I'll pour over the schematic and see if I can figure out which wire from the ignition switch to the coil I should bypass.

Thanks!

John

I suspect this is the problem, but I am notoriously poor at tracking down bad grounds.

How would I go about directly grounding the ignition? Run a wire directly from the battery to one of the coil terminals?

Thanks.

John

NO, the remote starter should allow power directly from the battery to energize the starter solenoid wire.

So you have 12 volts at the + side of the ign. coil but you still lose spark? Might be distributor. Are you checking the spark at the coil wire? Or at the spark plug? If at the plug, it still maybe a defective distributor rotor or cap. :-) I sometimes use a spare GOOD distributor, hook the plug to it and spin it by hand to check the spark. I have also seen the connections for the distributor plug corrode. After cleaning well and treating with some electrical grease, all is well again.

I am not fond of water getting to the fuse box. One fix you probably need to address. ;-) If you are getting a constant 12volts (or close to it) at the + side of the ign coil, I would probably rule out the fuse box as the ign. problem. :-) could be ign. coil, distributor (cap, rotor, hall sensor), ign. module, wiring, ECU does yours have a separate knock sensor module? Did you, like others have mentioned, cleaned the battery's neg ground cable/wires to the body and trans/engine?

If you are getting a constant 12 volts (or close to it) at the + side of the ign. coil, I would not bother! :-)

later, dave Reminder........ Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you criticize them, you are a mile away from them, and you have their shoes. Frieda Norris

It's the brown wire going to the ignition amplfier.

Do you have an alarm in there. If so try by-passing it..

SFC

"John Livingston" schreef in bericht news: snipped-for-privacy@news.east.cox.net...

No alarm. I tried spraying the back of the fuel/relay panel with WD40 this morning and saw some improvement.

The weather's turned lousy and there's no room in the garage, so it may be a couple of days before I can try anything more ambitious.

Anyone know a reasonable source for a new fuse/relay panel?

John

A1 + electrical issues = recipe for headaches.

My 81 Rabbit was fine but my 82 required rewiring many systems. Basically had

The fuse box sits right below where the antenna hole can leak or more likely the area at the drivers lower corner of the windshield likes to rust and allow water in. My current 89 is like that. Clear Silicone will be your friend.

To answer your question instead of hunting for a bad ground just start -adding- new grounds. Worst case you will be out some wire and electrical connectors. Best case you will have a more reliable VW.