Dizzy melt down & no spark .

An alchemy of sparks, copper wire and earth

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Richiee722
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Re: Dizzy melt down & no spark .

Post by Richiee722 »

Cheers again
Just thought I'd check in case I did any damage .
I've just done the wise thing ( not just for this problem but for any future ones ) and invested in a Bentley Manual !
I hope it's worth the money :shock:
Cheers again and I'll report back tomorrow, again lol
1981 2.0 cu, westfalia.

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itchyfeet
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Re: Dizzy melt down & no spark .

Post by itchyfeet »

lots of info in Bentley but it's a workshop manual and so it explains very little to somebody learning becuase it is aimed at professional mechanics.

great exploded diagrams though which say a thousand words :ok

Haynes on the other hand is more explanitory but sometimes leaves you in a situation with not enough information to finish the job and dingy black and white photos.
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Richiee722
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Re: Dizzy melt down & no spark , update

Post by Richiee722 »

hi again
Right then, battery fully charged, earth wire put on the dizzy, removed the black ignition live from the coil +'and put a fused wire directly to the battery.
Cranked it over and still no spark.
Just still the little faint spark when you start cranking and the little faint spark when you stop.
Don't know if it's worth mentioning , but there is a Clifford alarm wired in to every wire on the van ( or so it seems lol ) , I did have some trouble ages ago but that was like a relay thing in the alarm module that immobilised the starter motor but it's obviously not the same thing this time.
Any other suggestions so that I can rule others things out ?
Cheers guys
1981 2.0 cu, westfalia.

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itchyfeet
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Re: Dizzy melt down & no spark .

Post by itchyfeet »

itchyfeet wrote:check your coil again both primary and secondary resistances

did you do this.? what were the readings

itchyfeet wrote:you may have to consider the new dizzy is knackered.
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Richiee722
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Re: Dizzy melt down & no spark .

Post by Richiee722 »

Hi again itchy feet

I checked the new coil and the old coil and these are readings I came up with ( don't if this is right cos I'm not sure of the settings on multimeter ).
If I set the multimeter to ohms and to .20, I get for the primary
Old coil = 00.8
New coil = 00.8
Then set multimeter to 20k , I get for the secondary
Old coil = 3.76
New coil = 8.44
I'm not if this is the right way to check them but both the secondary readings are different , even the old coil hadn't even done 100 miles but neither seem to work.
1981 2.0 cu, westfalia.

Richiee722
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Re: Dizzy melt down & no spark .

Post by Richiee722 »

Hi again itchy feet

I checked the new coil and the old coil and these are readings I came up with ( don't if this is right cos I'm not sure of the settings on multimeter ).
If I set the multimeter to ohms and to .20, I get for the primary
Old coil = 00.8
New coil = 00.8
Then set multimeter to 20k , I get for the secondary
Old coil = 3.76
New coil = 8.44
I'm not if this is the right way to check them but both the secondary readings are different , even the old coil hadn't even done 100 miles but neither seem to work.
1981 2.0 cu, westfalia.

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itchyfeet
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Re: Dizzy melt down & no spark .

Post by itchyfeet »

itchyfeet wrote:
also check the new coil is the right primary resistance specified ( 1.5 ohms or higher as I read it) most likely the problem IMO

http://www.simonbbc.com/distributors/4c ... a-bosch-vw" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

your coil is a standard 0.8 ohm primary resistance which is too low

my guess is you have damaged the dizzy, did you buy the coil with the dizzy?
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Richiee722
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Re: Dizzy melt down & no spark .

Post by Richiee722 »

No, but I did buy them both from " Simons bbc ".
I bought the dizzy first , then the rotar arm melted so i messaged them to ask about it.
They said it was probably caused by my original coil so I asked them what they would recommend to go with that dizzy I bought from them.
They recommend the Lucas DLB198 which I also then bought from them.
The dizzy is a power spark high energy one, again I was told would be ok for my van, although after these problems I'm beginning to think I should of looked whether or not I could of did something with my original dizzy.
I only changed it coz the both the vacuum units were knackered and it wasn't advancing.
I wasn't sure if I could of changed the double vacuum to a single one and did away withe the retard bit.
It's pretty frustrating and I'm dreading something melting again and possibly causing an engine fire
Cheers
Richard
1981 2.0 cu, westfalia.

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itchyfeet
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Re: Dizzy melt down & no spark .

Post by itchyfeet »

have you looked for a replacement vac unit for the origional dizzy?
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Richiee722
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Re: Dizzy melt down & no spark .

Post by Richiee722 »

It had a double vacuum unit, I don't think you can get them.
I'll have a look tonight , if not I might just buy yet another coil.
If I remove my tachometer wire fro the coil, the dizzy wires and my fuel pump wires, should I just have a live going to the coil ?
Because mine has got an earth as well.
1981 2.0 cu, westfalia.

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itchyfeet
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Re: Dizzy melt down & no spark .

Post by itchyfeet »

New Dizzy should be connected to coil, one wire to pos ( red according to link below) and one to neg ( black according to link below)

The ONLY other wire you should have connected to the coil is the ignition 12V to the positive which comes from the loom and confusingly is black

As I said you will need an earth to the engine/ dizzy body but NOT to the coil

http://www.simonbbc.com/distributors/4c ... a-bosch-vw" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


if you could find a second hand vac unit would you know how to fit it and would you go back to your old dizzy?
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bigherb
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Re: Dizzy melt down & no spark .

Post by bigherb »

Don't buy anymore coils your wasting your money.
Have you got a 12v circuit tester? Something like this.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HEAVY-DUTY-6- ... 3f47e75806" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
1982 Camper 1970 1500 Beetle Various Skoda's, Ariel Arrow

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itchyfeet
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Re: Dizzy melt down & no spark .

Post by itchyfeet »

thanks for helping bigherb
1988 DG WBX LPG Tin Top
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Richiee722
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Re: Dizzy melt down & no spark .

Post by Richiee722 »

Hi guys
Haven't got a circuit tester probe thing but I can pick one up, I've got a multi meter ?
But obviously I don't know how to use it :lol:
Not sure why mine had an earth going from the coil to the body.
I'd already ordered another coil before I read your reply a guys, it won't hurt to keep it on the van as a spare for my spare !
I kept the loom I removed so could change back if I could get a vacuum unit ( I could probably change it myself )
I've removed that earth wire , added an earth from dizzy to the engine.
I may as well put the coil on when it arrives and try it , just in case it was a faulty one or I damaged it somehow.
1981 2.0 cu, westfalia.

Richiee722
Registered user
Posts: 44
Joined: 01 Jul 2014, 21:08
80-90 Mem No: 13651
Location: Caldicot, Monmouthshire, South Wales

Re: Dizzy melt down & no spark .

Post by Richiee722 »

Hi guys
Haven't got a circuit tester probe thing but I can pick one up, I've got a multi meter ?
But obviously I don't know how to use it :lol:
Not sure why mine had an earth going from the coil to the body.
I'd already ordered another coil before I read your reply a guys, it won't hurt to keep it on the van as a spare for my spare !
I kept the loom I removed so could change back if I could get a vacuum unit ( I could probably change it myself )
I've removed that earth wire , added an earth from dizzy to the engine.
I may as well put the coil on when it arrives and try it , just in case it was a faulty one or I damaged it somehow.
1981 2.0 cu, westfalia.

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