Issues with 73 beetle new owner

[Yellow_snocone]

So a bit of an introduction. I'm new to the forum as well as to owning a beetle. When i brought the car it was having a rough time starting but with a slight charge and a few pushes on the gas it starts and idles very roughly.

On to the first issues i believe the charging system is not working properly, one the light doesn't turn off and two the battery being new and it already seems flat. What are some proven methods to check the generator/ alt before i get a new one. Also will this cause the vehicle to idle roughly?

There is another issue with the carb potentially icing. After letting it idle and then eventually watching it die I've touched the carb and noticed it very cold. The heat risers are super hot on the #2 side and slightly hot on the #4 but cold in the center near the carb. This can't be right can it?


Sorry for the long post i just feel the more info the better.

1600cc dp
34pict3
Unknown aftermarket exhaust
Stock gen/alt

Thank you in advance with any help you guys can offer.

[Luft kühl]

Hi. Welcome to the Samba.

You can test to see if your charging system is doing anything by connecting a voltmeter between the battery terminals. Increasing the rpm should cause the voltage reading to increase.

In order to troubleshoot further it will be necessary to know wether you have a generator, or an alternator (post a picture).

The heat riser does not work with many of the aftermarket exhaust systems. Some of them can be drilled out, but may still not work properly.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=443868&highlight=heat+riser

[Yellow_snocone]

Thank you for the link on the heat risers. I'll test the battery and see if i get a raise in voltage

[Yellow_snocone]

So i tested the battery and got 12.91 volts then at roughly 3000 rpms it slowly rose to 13.06. I also decided to test my coil and it read 11.45 which isn't good shouldn't it be at 12.

Here is a picture of my gen/alt I'm guessing alternator

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