According to my mechanic my Polo 86C won't start because it need a new ignition coil. The replacement Bosh coil is £500 however I found an aftermarket coil for £60 but once received it turned out to be very different from the original. See photos. My mechanic says it is not compatible. Do you agree? Has anyone been able to source aftermarket replacement coils? I also read there a repair kits one can buy. Does anyone have any experience using them? THank you in advance.

thats a distributor , and yes its not the same 

 

find a used one with a matching part number for £50-60 on ebay , or im guessing the hall sender has failed these can be replaced seperatly

Edited 30 August, 20206 yr by steveo3002

21 hours ago, steveo3002 said:

thats a distributor , and yes its not the same 

 

find a used one with a matching part number for £50-60 on ebay , or im guessing the hall sender has failed these can be replaced seperatly

 

 

Amazing thank you so much! The hall send is the part bellow correct?

yes thats a hall sender ..have a look on autodoc.com , they list a few and the part numbers , can then try the part  numbers in ebay etc

I'm trying to take the ignition coil apart but I cannot seem to remove the round "rotor" which I've marked up in red on the photo. I can lift it upward slightly using a screw driver by prying upwards where the two arrows are but it won't go any further. I need to remove it to change the hall sender... any ideas?

there may be a securing roll pin through the other end of the shaft in the distributor which has to be knocked out with a punch.

and replaced with a new pin.

 

I have an older distributor with hall sender and no vacuum unit so I'm not 100% certain

 

https://www.howacarworks.com/ignition-system/overhauling-a-bosch-distributor

Looking at this there appears to be some circlips that hold the unit down http://www.oemepc.com/vw/part_single/catalog/vw/markt/RDW/modell/PO/year/1987/drive_standart/9/hg_ug/905/subcategory/94000/part_id/3689801/lang/e 

7 hours ago, nige8021 said:

Looking at this there appears to be some circlips that hold the unit down http://www.oemepc.com/vw/part_single/catalog/vw/markt/RDW/modell/PO/year/1987/drive_standart/9/hg_ug/905/subcategory/94000/part_id/3689801/lang/e 

 

yes I've removed the circlips but it still won't come out... move a little but then that's it...

8 hours ago, dvderlm said:

there may be a securing roll pin through the other end of the shaft in the distributor which has to be knocked out with a punch.

and replaced with a new pin.

 

I have an older distributor with hall sender and no vacuum unit so I'm not 100% certain

 

https://www.howacarworks.com/ignition-system/overhauling-a-bosch-distributor

 

Yes there is a pin at the other end. I was hoping I wouldn't need to remove it. The odd thing is that the "rotor" moves up a little but not all the way up...

I should add that this is part number 030 905 205 B and a new one is around £500

https://www.tav-autoverwertung.de/shop/Distributor-Bosch-0-237-021-041-030-905-205-B-VW-Golf-Jetta-Polo-10L-HZ-AAK-ACM

skip this

Edited 9 September, 20206 yr by dvderlm

That's the roll pin.

I watched an old mechanic change one at Lucas Electrical UK

Drive it out with a punch or rod of same diameter. Push a chisel in the lengthwise when removed and you may be able to reuse it.

 

Or find a Bosch dealer and service agentt?

https://www.autodoc.co.uk/car-parts/oem/030905205b is £344 new

https://www.ebay.de/itm/Distributor-ignition-VW-Golf-Polo-030905237EX-0237021074/123350258347

 

£99 english seller 237EX and 205B claimed interchangeable

 

on UK eBay too

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Distributor-ignition-VW-Golf-Polo-030905237EX-0237021074/123350258347

Edited 9 September, 20206 yr by dvderlm

7 hours ago, dvderlm said:

https://www.ebay.de/itm/Distributor-ignition-VW-Golf-Polo-030905237EX-0237021074/123350258347

 

£99 english seller 237EX and 205B claimed interchangeable

 

on UK eBay too

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Distributor-ignition-VW-Golf-Polo-030905237EX-0237021074/123350258347

 

Thanks, I ordered one on ebay.de. I'll fix the one I have with in my own time and put it up for sale on ebay if it works or if anyone here needs one they can message me.

 

I managed to get the pin out using the bottom of a drill bit with the correct diameter as a punch. Once apart though there's another circlip under the "rotor" which is really hard to access so you really need the right circlip pliers. Ordered some on Amazon although kind of annoying to buy some just to remove one circlip (so I'll probably just send them back after use 😜)

I'll be the poor sap who buys the circlip pliers in an Amazon warehouse cosmetic damage box to find that a vital tip is missing and have to take them back too post office on a rainy day with a return label that needs ink in the printer changing with a queue of coughing chin-masked covidiots and wait 2 weeks for the refund that is authorised while I'm intubated.

6 hours ago, dvderlm said:

I'll be the poor sap who buys the circlip pliers in an Amazon warehouse cosmetic damage box to find that a vital tip is missing and have to take them back too post office on a rainy day with a return label that needs ink in the printer changing with a queue of coughing chin-masked covidiots and wait 2 weeks for the refund that is authorised while I'm intubated.

 

hahaha. 😜 sorry. 🙄

So I bought this ignition coil on ebay and the car still won't start... Is there anyway I can test the ignition coil to make sure it works properly? Just want to be sure that the one I bought works before I try to figure out where else the issue could be coming from...

 

 

why do you keep calling it an ignition coil ?  the link is for a distributor

3 minutes ago, steveo3002 said:

why do you keep calling it an ignition coil ?  the link is for a distributor

 

Sorry my bad... distributor... 🙈

Sorry for thread hijack, can you get a vacuum advance unit seperatly? Mate had checked mine and it wasn't working properly. I've an old distributor here, but that one was the same so would be weary of a used one. Not sure exactly what is up with it though. It's running the best as it is.

Any ideas how to test the distributor to make sure it is working as it should?

https://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?2384768-How-to-test-a-hall-sender

The plot thickens... we are now getting a spark but according to the mechanic the spark is "weak" or not strong enough which is now the issue. Any ideas what could be causing this? Power to the distrubtor is ~11V.

 

Also below the distributor cap (left - black) which was supplied with the used distributor I got on ebay is different to the original distributor cap (right - red). We had to use the original cap as the plug wires don't fit the "new" black distributor cap. On the inside the appear to be the same but we're wondering if this could be the issue? Also we were using the new rotor with the old cap so that might be the cause? I will try the old cap with the old rotor tomorrow as I had left the old rotor at home but any pointers would help. Finally we could order new plug wires for the new black cap.

Edited 19 October, 20205 yr by chatlourd
forgot photos

thats early vs later cap ...any mechanic should spot this