Hard Starting Problem

From the original my59bug.com website...

When I first bought the bug I knew I had some problems to deal with.  Mainly a sluggish starter, oil leaks, fuel reserve valve, and overall electrical problems.

The first thing on tap was to figure out why the car wouldn't start consistently.  My car still consisting of 6v electrics had developed corrosion in the wires and it would start when it wanted to.  I replaced the battery, battery cables, starter, and still had problems with the bug wanting to start.  It would start up when it wanted to and sometimes not even at all. 

My last idea worked and that was to install a hard start relay.  Basically a hard start relay allows the most amperage to travel a shorter distance than originally designed by VW.  Instead of the starting amperage traveling from the battery to the fuse box, then to the starter, the relay makes it so the amperage travels from the battery directly to the starter.

Before

After

 Another problem I had was problems with lights working.  To help eliminate problems I replaced all bulbs and fuses in the entire car and cleaned all contacts to make sure that I could pin point wiring flaws.  My brake lights are still very dim and some of the blinkers still don't work!  It's a pain in the butt and when I think I have it fixed, it just goes again.  With 6v electrics grounding is very important and whenever it gets slightly corroded problems can occur.  As with other problems I will nurse it until I can finally diagnose it during the time of a full restoration.

As discussed in the Tech Articles I have replaced the fuel reserve valve.  It was not needed for the car to be operable, but mainly as a security in case I ever forgot to fill up and need to use the reserve part of the tank.

The engine still leaks a good amount of oil every time I leave it and let it cool down.  I believe it is the main seal because it is coming from the front of the engine case and will replace this soon.

I've also replaced various gaskets that were worn, cleaned up the engine, replaced the fuel line from the fuel pump to carb and small items that needed replacement.

As far as problems I've found with the car since I've been driving it; the voltage regulator may need replacing, the transaxle doesn't seem to want to go into first sometimes, and I get bored having no music!    Stay tuned for an update on the music situation because I hopefully have a solution that hasn't been tried before.  Other than that the bug continues to put around and I am going to do a tune up in a couple hundred miles!