Help me troubleshoot acvw no spark

Sounds like:

Cap and rotor are junk

OR plug wires are junk

There's not a whole lot left.

In reply to Patrick (Forum Supporter)

  Didn't I say that awhile ago ?

I cleaned old cap and rotor and installed.  Have spark at each plug as tested by a plug in the wire.  Cleaned (new) plugs for hell of it.  It's trying to start now, but still not(on ether or gas).   I kinda feel like I should pull the distributor and go through the process of installing it as if the engine was taken apart?   The engine was complete when i got it, but i did not hear it run.  I spun it and felt compression and put it in.  
 

one would imagine if the timing marks line up when 1 is tdc and rotor points at 1 on cap the distributor would be in correct though

a VW distributor can be turned 90 degrees off or more , 

if you pull the distributor and look down you will see the distributor drive gear , as you can see the slot is offset so it will only go in one way , 

But you can turn it maybe 90 degrees each way until the consensor hits something , 

So if you have 12v power to the coil , when you open the points up with a screwdriver you should get a spark out of the main coil wire ( coil to center of distributor cap).  Just push the moving side of the closed points so you have a gap and you should have spark,

if you have spark next will be rotor,,,,

OHHHH , does a 76 bus engine have hydralic lifters ?   if so they probably leaked down.......

I went digging in my archives and found specs for this engine.

Cylinders are numbered number with #1 on the passenger side nearest the firewall as stated.  #2 is on the same side.  #3 is on the driver side nearest the firewall.

ignition timing timing is 7 1/2 B.  spark plug gap is .028,  dwell, 44=50, point gap,.016

Firing order is 1432    #1 cyl. is mark in dist. body.    rotor rotation is clockwise.

Most of this you already know, so this just to verify

In reply to iceracer :

That's what i found searching.  Plugs gapped .028, i found .015 on the points but what's .001 between friends.  Firing order correct.  Tins numbered at cylinders and matches what you put up.  I was setting the distributor when it was pointed to 1 on the cap at about 8 btdc by turning it till the test light just came on.  So i have spark at presumably the correct time, and i have fuel.  Carb is set to base adjustments and I'm getting a pump shot.  Barring that i also tried with the fuel pump disconnected with starting fluid.  It's definitely trying to run now, not happening though.  
 

Well heck, now it's probably just flooded.  If you haven't worn the threads in the cylinder heads out by now, I'd give it a whole lot of cranking with the plugs out and the throttle wide open to blow everything out before trying any further.  Bet there's a lot of white mist from the plug holes.  (Resist the urge to set up little ignitors so it looks like a little Top Fuel motor shooting flames from Zoomies)

Heating the plugs a little with a torch also helps, but it's real easy to wreck the porcelain that way, and I wouldn't want to try to thread hot plugs into an ACVW engine.  I like my fingerprints too much for that.

I've forgotten, you have fresh fuel going to the carb, right?

Yes, fresh fuel new carb new pump new line tank clean.  The fuel system is like 13" long including the pump.  
 

genius me has like $1000 in this vw engine and can't make it run

Just clarifying... Whenever noodling out a tough diagnosis, it's usually something that was overlooked because it was assumed good.  When in doubt verify EVERYTHING.  So my questions may be basic and possibly insulting but I mean nothing by it but to get a Full Picture.

When I got the red RX-7 running, it did not want to run even though it had fresh fuel in a clean tank... because there was scungy old red nasty fuel in the fuel line, and this is what filled the carb.   Had to sop all that out twice to get clean fuel in the carb.  Shame on me for not clearing the fuel line out.

Felt like good compression. Actual compression check w/ gauge? 

First thing I would do w/ ACVW engine new to me is check valve clearance.

0.02

If you have spark and have 'almost running' with starter fluid it is probably just spark timing at this point. Put a light on it! Seems like youre 95% there. 

I am having horrible flashbacks. All new electrical system. New fuel system. New plugs. Compression decent. Cleaned carbs 5 times. Re-timed 5 times. Valves set twice.

Finally just cranked it longer than I should have and it finally caught. Gave her some gas pedal and just got so aggravated she finally kicked over. Been good since.

Compression tester is cheap and quick on an acvw.

This is a good overview:

https://www.pelicanparts.com/techarticles/914_ignition_troubleshoot/914_ignition_troubleshoot.htm

I remember reading somewhere that not all Bosch blue coils are alike.  I was trying to find the spec (ohm) for your engine. No luck so far.  I'll keep searching.

I triple? recommend the compression test if you are pretty sure spark is ok and timing is in the ballpark, and it won't fire on the ether.

That's next.  I think I acquired a compression tester last year to replace the one my incarcerated cousin burned up in a meth lab related barn fire

Dry compression:

Cyl 1 37psi

cyl 2 90psi

 cyl 3 85psi

cyl 4 25psi

from the samba, 80-130psi is ok.  
 

leakdown on 1 and 4 shows rings not happy, engine sat for i have no idea how long but from the dust and stuff I would assume 10+ years..  No leakage through valves, it all came out the breather.  Of course they're on opposite sides.  

Currently have 1 at tdc and soaking in marvel mystery oil. 
 

That sucks man.

If it's flooded, the compression might be low.

If the soak doesn't fix things i can get some gaskets and pop the heads off.  According to vw sources the 1.8 heads are better than 2.0 heads, and i have some of those on the shelf.  A piston/ring/jug kit is cheap enough worst case. I'm married to the t4 engines at this point.  I have another on the shelf I can build if it comes to it, but prefer to sell that one to a porsche person because it's a 71 914 1.7
 

for now it can soak, and if number 1 comes back i'll repeat for number 4.  I'm busy tomorrow.   

Rings are not hard on an ACVW.  Should not take more than a few hours to re-ring the entire engine, especially with it so exposed like that

Yikes.  Hope the soak does the job.  I’d think it should help at least a little bit, since you’ve got more than zero compression.

I wouldn't put too much stock in compression on an engine that hasn't been running.

My old Nissan went to zero compression after it sat for a month.  I thought the timing chain had fallen off.  Clear-flood cranked it with the plugs out for about 60 seconds and it got back enough compression to start.

37 and 25 is pretty low but the other two should be firing at least... the plugs seem wet if you pull them after cranking?

Paul_VR6 (Forum Supporter) said:

37 and 25 is pretty low but the other two should be firing at least... the plugs seem wet if you pull them after cranking?

if plugs aren't wet and it's trying to run, give it more fuel.

buzzboy said:

Sounds like when my condenser died on  my Type 1 engine. It was a real head scratcher for me too.

came here to say this