By 1971 the Volkswagen Beetle had been in production for over twenty years with very little change, but had sales of over one million units that year. The 1971 Beetle has a rear mounted air-cooled four cylinder engine that drives the rear wheels through a four-speed transaxle. Since electronic ignitions were still a few years away, the 1971 Beetle requires regular tune-ups, which include checking the dwell angle in the breaker points. Connecting the dwell meter for testing is a relatively easy procedure.
Tools Used: Dwell meter
Connect Dwell Meter
Park the vehicle in a location away from traffic. Open the rear engine cover.
Locate the distributor, which should be in plain view on top of the engine.
Trace the green wire from the distributor to the ignition coil.
Affix the alligator clip of the dwell meter's positive lead to the terminal on the ignition coil where the green wire from the distributor terminates.
Connect the alligator clip of the negative lead from the dwell meter to a piece of structural metal surrounding the engine or on a bolt on the engine block.
Tips & Warnings
Start the engine and let it warm up to operating temperature before taking a dwell reading. The scale on the dwell meter should read 50 degrees plus or minus two degrees. The dwell angle can be adjusted by adjusting the point gap.
Ensure the wires from the dwell meter are routed away from the fan belt. If the wires become tangled in the belt, damage to the dwell meter or the fan belt could occur.
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