cant figure out problem

[djtreo]

hi guys!

nice to be here. well, i got a problem with my 1303s. the (G) red light is ON and i already checked its oil and still it has gas/fuel. and also, when i try to start the car, i can hear unwanted noice like crankling or something like it.

any ideas?

[denisond3]

I can picture a 74 Beetle in my mind, but I dont know what a 1303 is. When you say there is a crankling sound, you mean there is some sound in addition to the normal sound of the engine being cranked around by the starter?
I dont know if the G light is for the oil, or for the generator/alternator. If you hear any unusual noise, one thing to check is whether the fan itself is still in one piece, and isnt loose on the shaft that it spins on. (I believe it is mounted on the forward end of the alternator shaft. If it gets loose it will make some weird noises). And with the drive belt removed, make sure the alternator/generator will spin freely, and that the rotor is not scraping on the inside of the stator coils, such as a bad alternator bearing would cause.

[djtreo]

well, to give you a picture of my '74 super beetle (1303s), here's a pic (with engine)





as to my problem, i believe it's the (G) generator/alternator.

[denisond3]

Nice looking car. I would still be driving my 64 beetle if its belly pan hadnt gotten so rusty that I could see the road going by under me. If I wanted to buy a 64 beetle in decent condition today, it would cost at least $5000 for one that wasnt too rusty. If it was in the same shape as your car seems to be, it would probably cost closer to $8,000. At least we can still get parts for them easily. I have a 90 VW Jetta now that I will fix up this winter. Im retired, so have plenty of time to work on it.
If you take the belt off that turns the alternator, any noise it is making will stop.
The 12 volt battery should read about 12.6 volts if the car is not running and hasnt been running for perhaps an hour. That would be with the lights off, ignition off, no doors open.
When the engine is running, the voltage at the battery should go up to about 13.2 fairly quickly, and may go as high as 14.6 if the car has been running for some miles; maybe 30 to 60 minutes.
I think your car has the alternator - they had a case that was larger in diameter than the generators did. The alternator should put out enough current to increase the battery voltage even at an idle - if the alternator is good.
A generator may not put out that much voltage at an idle, but would if you speeded up the engine somewhat. On the old 6 volt beetles the 'G' light would come on when the engine was idling. It would go out as soon as you drove off however.
By the way....what does a liter of gasoline cost on Mindanao? We are paying about $3 u.s.d. for a gallon, or about 78 cents per liter.

[djtreo]

hi again!

the belts are new (just purchased a couple of days ago), and the annoying sound is nowhere to be heard

but the main problem now is the alternator; its somehow "dying" 'cause i cant even start the engine. it will just "click" then nothing..

i checked the brushings and stuff, all are fine.. i need to call a mech (can't handle this myself...hehe)

thnx for the comments tho. i will be glad if you gonna post some pics of your jetta. our bug has some rust too underneath (need to body-lift).

gasoline price per liter here is almost 50 pesos; about $1.10+

[kelwa1]

Well, the "clicking" sounds like your battery doesn't have enough power to turn the engine over, much less to start it. Charge it.

Red light on can mean several things,,,,

#1 - bad generator or alternator

#2 - bad voltage regulator

#3 - or both, which sucks

If one or the other is bad or going bad, your battery wont get charged. This can happen while you're driving too. If so, then your engine is running ON BATTERY POWER ONLY. Depending on how far you drive, your battery will be dead soon.

Charge your battery, clean the terminals while you're at it, and check to make sure the voltage holds at or above 12v. Then you can check the Voltage regulator and Gen/Alternator. If they check out, then start looking for a bad ground.

[djtreo]

thnx kelwa1. i'll check that out too. i'm planning to buy a brand new alternator...not like the one i'm using now (voltage regulator outside...kinda freaky)

[73btl]

hey there, I have a 73 super and my G light came on once to. I couldn't figure it out either because I didn't really do anything to my alternator. but I did figure out was that when I was hooking up my tach, I put some wires in the wrong order on my, what I figure is my seatbelt light. I got that figured out and the light went off. I didn't have start problems so I don't know if that will help you but it was one of my experiences.