[T3] Mysterious squareback condition.... need suggestions.

[James Lingenfelter]

   Thanks, I will check these things first chance I get. I replaced  
the plug wires today, so they're good. Everything else is potentially  
suspect. I am very afraid that it might be plugs. I dread changing  
them, because the aluminum intakes are oversized to the point where  
they have to be removed to change the plugs..... and it was those  
intakes that were the source of my perpetual intake leaks that I JUST  
got fixed. That will just be my luck if I now take them back off to  
change the plugs, and the cursed intake leak returns. LOL.
   Thanks for the suggestions.

On Jan 25, 2011, at 8:33 PM, Jim Adney wrote:

> On 25 Jan 2011 at 16:42, James Lingenfelter wrote:
>
>> When I got home from work, I got it  started after much cranking and
>> pumping on the gas, but then it idled  horribly and would die within
>> 30 seconds if you let off the throttle.  And I witnessed it backfire
>> once through the passenger side carb when  I opened the throttle from
>> the engine compartment. From randomly  inspecting things in the  
>> engine
>> compartment I discovered massive  corrosion at the plug wire
>> connections to the distributor cap..... I  was already planning to
>> replace them since one plug wire had shocked  me through the  
>> shielding
>> recently. I consulted with my brother, who's  an auto mechanic, and
>> determined that, considering the all-day rain  we had yesterday, that
>> I indeed had an ignition problem probably  resulting from poor
>> connections or arcing somewhere.
>
> Wet weather will play havoc with any car's ignition system, even one
> where all, or most of, the parts are in perfectly good condition.
> Here are some places to check.
>
> Pull the dist cap and check to see if there is condensation inside.
> If so, wipe it out, while being careful to not break off the carbon
> brush in the center.
>
> Check the spark plug gaps. If the gap has worn wide, this will
> require higher voltage to jump that gap, and that increases the
> chance that the spark will find a "better" place to go to ground. The
> gap should not be more than .028".
>
> Look at the underside of your fan housing. Along the seam, right in
> the middle there is a hole about the size of a matchstick. Find the
> hole and poke a stick in there to see if its become blocked with
> dirt. If it's blocked, you may get water spilling out. That hole
> needs to be clear so water doesn't collect there and then get blown
> across the spark plugs when you start the engine.
>
> Look at the spark plug cables. Do they have nice rubber boots on the
> SP ends that seal snugly all the way down the ceramic, so water can't
> get in there and short out the insulator?
>
> BTW, corrosion on those HV terminals is not a problem. It doesn't
> slow down the spark one bit.
>
> -- 
> *******************************
> Jim Adney, jadney at vwtype3.org
> Madison, Wisconsin, USA
> *******************************
>
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