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Coil Wiring Hook-Up's

Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2011 7:56 am
by urtheiz
I need to find out what wires get plugged into which side of the coil. I'm putting the engine back into the bus ('71) and tried to start it, but no juice to the plugs. Everything else gets power (lights, radio, starter turns and the coil "shows" juice).
I took notes on what wires I pulled from what side, but something's messed up and it's not working. Any help or suggestions?

Re: Coil Wiring Hook-Up's

Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2011 8:32 am
by RSorak 71Westy
Look at the top of the coil closely by the 2 small terminals there will be plus and minus signs. The plus sign is where the hot wires go. Go turn on the ignition switch, with a volt meter find the wire with power, it goes to the plus side of the coil. The negative side of the coil goes to the distributor.

Re: Coil Wiring Hook-Up's

Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2011 8:36 am
by sped372
Sometimes there's no '+' and '-' markings. In that case '15' means positive and '1' means negative. The other powered bits, like the carb cutoff and choke draw power from the positive side of the coil also.

Re: Coil Wiring Hook-Up's

Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2011 8:45 am
by urtheiz
Thanks for the suggestions!! I also have a Pertronix in the distributor with 2 wires coming from it, a black and a red one. The black goes to negative and I'm guessing red to positive. I have some other clip-on's that were hooked up to the coil. I don't have a meter, only a "trouble light".

Re: Coil Wiring Hook-Up's

Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2011 9:03 am
by sped372
I wouldn't guess with the hookups. I've heard those electronic point modules are easy to fry if you get it wrong. Do a bit of research first!

Also, you should really pick up a meter, even a cheap $10 bargain-bin one is much more valuable than just a test bulb. You'll use it, and then you'll eventually want a nicer one. It's money well spent.

Re: Coil Wiring Hook-Up's

Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2011 9:52 am
by Randy in Maine
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Re: Coil Wiring Hook-Up's

Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2011 12:01 pm
by vdubyah73
If you have already hooked up the distributor module backwards you need a new one. It fried as soon as you turned the key on. When i disconnect the wires from the coil I use a Sharpie to mark the coil and bundle each set of wires in blue painters tape then mark them. You don't even have to know which is which as far as + and - go just mark one side A and the other B.

I'm gonna guess that you didn't know that on an old VW the black wire is + and a brown wire is ground. Did you instinctively think black was - and hook it up backwards? If you had points it probably would have started but not run very well.

Re: Coil Wiring Hook-Up's

Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2011 5:36 am
by Amskeptic
[quote="Randy in Maine"][/quote]

Hey Randy . . . he said, "Pertronics". We don't want him to be looking for green wires that don't exist.
Colin :alien:

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Re: Coil Wiring Hook-Up's

Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2011 11:59 am
by urtheiz
Thanks for all your help!!! I got it running, but it had other problems. The fan was rubbing the housing so I had to pull the engine again, (hittin' my head against the wall) though the 2nd time I had help. I used to have quite a number of VW's when I was younger (40-20 yrs ago). Then a really cool Type II found me (really, it's a good story) a few years back, so this was the first time I've pulled an engine in 20+ years. Even with the mistakes, I had a good time!!!

Re: Coil Wiring Hook-Up's

Posted: Fri Jul 01, 2011 9:14 pm
by Amskeptic
urtheiz wrote:Thanks for all your help!!! I got it running, but it had other problems. The fan was rubbing the housing so I had to pull the engine again, (hittin' my head against the wall) though the 2nd time I had help. I used to have quite a number of VW's when I was younger (40-20 yrs ago). Then a really cool Type II found me (really, it's a good story) a few years back, so this was the first time I've pulled an engine in 20+ years. Even with the mistakes, I had a good time!!!
These cars are a good time .... and when you get back in the swing of things, you can next time loosen the generator strap (13mm bolt/nut), and just move the generator back or forth in its saddle until all is quiet.
Colin

Re: Coil Wiring Hook-Up's

Posted: Sat Jul 29, 2017 7:01 pm
by camit34
Yes, this was a while ago but the search function worked it's foo and this helped me out!