Aircooled VW South Africa

Hi Guys. About a weeke ago my 13 '78 beetle did not want to start. The ignition light came on but nothing. I eventually got it started after a kickstart. I ended up buying a new battery and it worked fine, I took the beetle to Battery Centre in Stanger (KZN) and asked them to check the battery, alternator etc.Everythin looked fine.Now (today) a week later, the car did not want to start. I had a alarm and immobiliser installed about 3 years ago. Could this problem be related to the immobiliser?Or could there be a problem with the charging of the battery? The car today again showed that there was power, but the ignition did not want to engage. If it is the immobiliser do you guys have any idea where immobiliser technicians would put the control box in a beetle? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

The imm box would most likely be behind the dash(under the bonnet),near all the wiring.

Also check the ign switch itself.

Does the red dashboards lights dimm a lot when you try to start it? That should indicate the battery is at fault - maybe something is draining power even when the ignition is switched off. If the lights do not dim - I would lean more towards a problem with the starter/solenoid or maybe the switch (as Chris said)

I always find the best way to check if you have a problem with something drawing current if the car is switched of is to take a digital multimeter and connect it in the circuit of the positive wire from the battery. This way you can see immediately if you have an above normal current flowing with the ignition off. A few milli amps is OK, but anything higher could indicate a problem.
If you see an abnormal reading, start removing the fuses one by one until the reading drops. Using a workshop manual with wiring diagrams, you should then be able to pinpoint the likely item causing the problem. Just don't try to start the car with the meter in place, you'll end up blowing the fuse or worse damaging the meter.

Good luck!

Could also be the connection at the starter, small connection

If the immobilliser is the aftermarket type where you have a handheld transmitter that makes the car go "pleep" when you press the button, you can be sure it will drain your battery in in a few days. It has a radio receiver that is on 24 hours a day,to receive the signal when you press the button,and in doing so draws current all the time,same like if you forgot to switch off the car radio.
Had this in two occasions,think the name "Shurlok" or something similar comes to mind.Had to disconnect them in both cases.

An normal immobiliser draws about 50 mA when the immobiliser is active and the alarm is set. This is enought to run a 45Ah battery down in about 30 days - nothing to worry about really.

Try a few tests to try an isolate the fault.

First, at the starter test the wire running to the starter solenoid to see if you actually get 12 Volt to the solenoid when the key is in the "start" position. ( Do this with the wire connected to the terminal of the solenoid).

If you do not have 12 Volt there, at the ignition swith, find the wire that gets 12 Volt with the key in the "start" position.

If you do have 12 Volt there, then the problem is most likely a faulty start circuit interrupt relay in the immobiliser. Replace the immobiliser.
If you don't have 12 Volt there, you probably have a faulty ignition switch that needs to be replaced.

If you do have power at the solenoid, but it is less than about 11 Volt, you might not have sufficient current to energize the solenoid. To remedy this fit a 4 pin relay between the thick positive terminal on the starter (battery side) and the solenoid teminal. Use the original wire to the solenoid to activate the relay. This will give you enough voltage and current to activate the solenoid.

If you do have power at the solenoid and it does not drop below 12 Volt at start, you might have a faulty solenoid. This can be replaced by a reliable auto electrician.

Good luck

Johann

my old bug also had an this moerse alarm system...and every now and then it didnt want to know anything of starting...i just took the battery terminal off and then back on,seem to reset the alarm and it would then start again...does the solonoid actually kick in?recently my baja did the samething as yours lights and everything is on and nothing happens except for the solonoid kicking in...i normaly took the starter out,stripped it checked that al the bushes and spacing were fine and put it back...it seemed to work but then about a week later it would do the same thing...so i instaled a relay and it hasnt done it since...

Schweet, a local, i had the same prob, i just pulled out the immob. Gonna install a whole new syst. Guess it'l b safer.

Try replacing the contact unit at the end of the ignition lock.

A mini hi-jack, tracking systems tend to draw plenty current and can have your battery flat in a little more than a week. One of the dudes here at work had to get his brand new 135 BMW rescued at the airport 3 times after buisness trips overseas between 14-21 days, everytime he returned he had to get the battery boosted. BMW confirmed that the tracking system is the culprit. When I had my Toyota battery replaced at the dealirship as it was under guarantee, I was informed that if the car is fitted with a tracking system that the guatantee on the battery is no longer valid, and there was a big sign in the workshop advertising a tracking system, go figure.

both cases happend at the coast, can also be corosion on the inside of the ignition switch.