There are no points on a water cooled Vanagon - only a hall sender which
will not present a constant "fire coil" state if left in the "correct"
position.

At 02:19 PM 17/10/2000 +1000, ron wrote:
>Dear List,
>Over the years I have have noticed that many people when working on their
>vehicle will leave the ignition in the "on" position even though the motor
>is not running. I think we all have either done this or seen this done.
>If the points are in the closed position, the circuit for the primary is
>complete, this means a current will be drawn thru the primary and the coil
>will heat. This may not be a problem if it is a rare occurrence. Although it
>may lead to some sort of insulation breakdown inside the coil itself. (I am
>just guessing here). This may lead to more heat generated and ultimately
>fire. Remember that the current will only flow if the points are closed. The
>distributor won't stop in the same place every time.
>I remember my father taking the distributor cap off and inserting a piece of
>paper in between the points so it would not overheat.
>I hope this helps.
>Regards Ron.
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: David Beierl <dbeierl@ATTGLOBAL.NET>
>To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
>Sent: Tuesday, October 17, 2000 12:43 PM
>Subject: Re: Another coil fire
>
>
>> At 20:14 10/16/2000, Dana Morphew wrote:
>> >The coil on the type RV Digifant2 engine I just bought had a secondary
>> >resistance of 7500 ohms...more than double what it ought to have.  I'm
>> >wondering if this can cause enough heating to cause a fire?
>>
>> *Typically* that would cause less overall heating (but maybe a point
>> heat-source depending on the cause) -- without actually knowing, I would
>> surmise that troubles in the primary winding would be more likely to
>> overheat the coil.
>>
>> d
>> David Beierl - Providence, RI
>>   http://pws.prserv.net/synergy/Vanagon/
>> '84 Westy "Dutiful Passage"
>> '85 GL "Poor Relation"
>
>

-- David Marshall - Volkswagen Enthusiast - Quesnel, BC, Canada   --
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-- 85 VW Cabriolet, 87 Audi 5000 Quattro, 88 VW Syncro Double Cab --
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