[T3] Mystery No Start

[Dave Hall]

I've lived with that problem since the early 70's when I took over my father's Type 3. That was 6Volt but it has also happened on all my 12V Type 3s since. 
Suspects are the ignition starter switch, solenoid, sticking starter motor or brushes and transmission earth braid. If you don't already have a hard start relay fitted, fit one, if only to save the ignition switch. I've not had it recur since doing that. 
If you already have one, open up the starter motor and clean it, check brushes, and lightly lubricate the gear. 
If the charging system was not coping ok, you would probably have had misfiring with FI, but the maximum dynamo output is only 30 amps so may not have kept up with the load.
I hope that helps. There's plenty in the archives on this for the long winter nights!

Dave
UK Type 3 and 4 Club
------------------------


-----Original Message-----
From: "donrob at yachtsales.com" <donrob at yachtsales.com>
Sent: ‎02/‎11/‎2016 00:58
To: "type3 at vwtype3.org" <type3 at vwtype3.org>
Subject: Re: [T3] Mystery No Start


You may have a bad spot in the starter...  if it stops in exactly the 
right spot again, it may fail to work again.  The booster provided 
enough amperage to overcome the resistance.  Could you hear the selenoid 
clicking?

On 2016-11-01 19:47, J. Jonik wrote:
> '71 Sqbk FI Std.
> 30 mile trip in rain, wipers and lights on.  Turned car off to unload
> things at home.  After 2 minutes, car wouldn't start...like no
> battery...only noise the FI relay thing. But headlights were fine.  
> Pushed car into slight down-hill parking spot.   Snugged up all
> relevant wires, moved and re-tightened pos and neg on battery (and neg
> to ground), and gravity test had battery being ok.   Still dead. Luck
> had it that a neighbor, very soon, said he had a battery charger....or
> "booster"...the kind, about size of a toaster, that you just need to
> clamp to the battery to jump it.   Miracle device...never used one
> before. (His thing also could do air for tires.)
> 
> Car started right up.   Started again (without help) a few hours
> later.   Started again the next day and all six days since then.  
> Auto Store ran battery test today. Battery good.  But, when will that
> oddity happen again?  A once-in-lifetime fluke?
> 
> So....what happened?  Can a fault in wiper motor, with (or without)
> lights on, do some dirty trick?  Is there a way to test if wiper or
> lights are messed up somehow?
> A clue to something?  Just before that 30 mile return trip, for a
> brief moment, the wipers got Very Slow, almost stuck...then returned
> to normal.  But car started ok after that.
> Where's a "complete idiot" manual for 45 year old VWs?
>   
> -------------- next part --------------
> An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
> URL:
> <http://lists.vwtype3.org/pipermail/type3-vwtype3.org/attachments/20161101/2fbaef27/attachment.htm>
> _______________________________________________
> VWType3.Org mailing list - type3 at vwtype3.org
> To unsubscribe or change subscription options, visit:
> http://lists.vwtype3.org/listinfo.cgi/type3-vwtype3.org
> If you need more help, contact: gregm at vwtype3.org
_______________________________________________
VWType3.Org mailing list - type3 at vwtype3.org
To unsubscribe or change subscription options, visit:
http://lists.vwtype3.org/listinfo.cgi/type3-vwtype3.org
If you need more help, contact: gregm at vwtype3.org
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.vwtype3.org/pipermail/type3-vwtype3.org/attachments/20161102/8b911bca/attachment.htm>