[T3] Bad day at the (FI) office

[Daniel Nohejl]

> Sorry to hear that you're having what appears to me to be new 
> problems. It's certainly POSSIBLE that the "new" B brain which I sent 
> you is responsible. I'll get on some of the ones you've sent me, and 
> send some, including another "new" one, back to you ASAP. The only 
> testing I've done on any of my "tested" versions is to make sure they 
> would start and run a car.

That’d be great. All I have right now is an A brain. All of my spare B's are with you. Hard to believe that I had so many bad brains to send your way. Was it 5 or 6?


> It's quite likely that the hiss you're hearing is just the sound of 
> air slipping by the throttle plate at the front of the IAD. That's 
> normal. It's loudest at idle, when the vacuum is max and the throttle 
> opening is min. I'm hoping that you just forgot that it was always 
> there at idle.

I never really knew exactly what caused the hiss, but there’s always been one and I’ve never fretted about it before. Your explanation makes it very clear why I hear it mostly around where the elbow meets the IAD. Jessica and I both listened around with a hose and only heard it there. I was more acutely aware of the hiss after having those issues yesterday and after Sean asked about it. There are things one takes for granted as being normal and they fade into the background until someone else asks if they’re normal, at which point one sometimes wonders if they were ever normal to begin with. If that makes any sense….Still, I’ll do the other tests you suggested and check on the hoses. I’ll also look into the distributor and throttle.

> I don't think this is a simple vacuum leak. If it's a leak at all, 
> it's a leak that confuses the FI. A simple leak into the intake air 
> system would have different symptoms: the "loping" you're familiar 
> with.

Right…..at the moment, it’s like the whole system “blinks” for a second. Sometimes a few times in a row and other times there’s more than a minute between blinks. At first I thought it was a voltage issue, then a fuel issue, then a vacuum issue, and now I don’t know what it is. 

> I encourage you to disconnect wire 18, to the starter solenoid, the 
> TVS plug, and the pressure switch plug. That just takes those items 
> out of the picture, simplifying it. Leave those disconnected until 
> you have this sorted out, or until it becomes clear that 
> disconnecting them fixed the problem. If one of them caused the 
> problem, reconnect them, one at a time, one per week, until you find 
> the culprit.  
> 
> Our weather has been improving. Wish you were here….

This can be done easily though after being burned so many times I’m a bit reluctant to rely on this car for commuting and testing right now. 

If you weren’t 15 hours away…..though if you want to come to NY, I’m sure there are at least three Type 3 owners who’d love to have you!



Daniel