[T3] Drove the crate a bit today.

[Jim Adney]

On 19 Jul 2012 at 20:40, Keith Park wrote:

> Got it up on the highway for a few miles, ran good, this thing has pretty
> good power for a 1500!  Nice low end too.  kinda hunkers down when it needs
> to!  It doesn't like to start when fully warmed up though. just cranks slow,
> strange really.. It does start but usually takes some pumping of the pedal.
> The battery seems good, cranks fine when cold, charging system is working
> OK,
> I have welding cable going to the starter and for the ground strap, starter
> relay at the starter but when its really warmed up even on a cool morning
> it REALLY cranks slow, just about stalls the motor.

Everything about a 6V system conspires to make things about 4x 
harder. You have 1/2 the voltage to work with, so every millivolt 
lost counts double. The starter has to draw twice as much current to 
make the same power, so every milliohm causes 2x the voltage drop.

Don't assume that a solidly bolted connection is good. I've seen 
highly ohmic bolted connections at the solenoid.

If you have those aftermarket battery post clamps that clamp w/2 
bolts to the wire, replace them with one piece parts. Those clamped 
connections go bad in about a year. Nothing is as good as the OE 
parts.

Clean the battery posts and make SURE the clamps are all the way down 
on the posts before you tighten them. Use a screwdriver to spread the 
clamps so they'll go all the way down. DO NOT hammer them down; that 
will mean a new battery.

You could try loosening and retightening EVERY bolt in the starter 
current loop, ground and hot. Make sure the short braid from solenoid 
to starter is in good shape. As a last resort, you could think about 
the battery ground wire routing: Either route it so that it connects 
to the other end of the same bolt as the tranny ground strap, or make 
a new ground wire that runs from the battery ground all the way to 
the tranny. Leave the OE ground strap in place for the low current 
devices.

In the end, get someone to measure the battery voltage (post to post, 
not clamp to clamp) while you're cranking. If it goes much below 6V, 
you may need a new battery.

-- 
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Jim Adney, jadney at vwtype3.org
Madison, Wisconsin, USA
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