[T3] Re/ Mystery Fix...

[Jim Adney]

On 27 Jan 2013 at 8:45, J. Jonik wrote:

> I spoke too soon about the "mystery fix".of car cutting out after a
> second or two of good running. 

>   After doing that fuel system wire (#19) grounding on the manifold,
> to run pump longer, the car made a couple mile round trip for plumbing
> stuff, then the next day (temps still in the 20s), it started easily
> and ran, sitting there, for a good ten minutes. 

I guess all this proves is that the problem is intermittent. When you 
turn the key ON, do you hear the 2 clicks, even when the engine won't 
start? Intermittent problems are the hardest to pin down.

>   But an hour later, getting set to go out, it ran for about 3 minutes
> (warming it up a little) then cut out again.  Started it again...it
> ran for a minute.  After that, just the one or two seconds. 

Can you LISTEN to the pump? Is it running consistently, or does it 
stop and THEN the engine slows down and dies? (ie, what happens 
first?)

>   So...as per Bob's note below, it looks like the pump is "getting
> tired".  So, I'll soak a couple of dry-stored spares in diesel an get
> to the job of HOPING one of them works. 

If they've been stored dry for a long time, there's little hope that 
they'll be leak free now. Don't bother.

>   But, before doing that, is there any way to assure that it's a pump
> problem?...not one of the switches or something? (I have a bunch of
> relay switches.)   Clean filter was put in just a month or two ago. 

No, there are several possible explanations: bad pump, bad wiring, 
bad relay. One thing I would double check would be to make SURE #19 
is correctly plugged back together. It is sometimes possible to slide 
the connector inside that plastic sleeve such that the 2 connectors 
are side by side rather than one inside the other. This will make an 
unreliable connection.

>  If I did that wire grounding trick a few times, would that FIX the
> problem, or just delay the inevitable? 

That won't FIX anything. it may just help you diagnose the problem.
-- 
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Jim Adney, jadney at vwtype3.org
Madison, Wisconsin, USA
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