[T3] cool weather idle hunt

[Daniel Nohejl]

I seem to recall reading that one could even repurpose the rear window defroster relay as an FI power relay which would seem to indicate that it’s a fairly standard 12V relay. But what do I know?

My ground wire goes from a female tab on the relay to a ring connector under the relay and screw. The ring connector is what I was able to rotate on account of the loose screw. Is there something to put under that screw to make it grip better? I also wonder if anyone else has encountered a relay that is bent too far toward the front of the car to get a screwdriver to the ground screw without having to push the relay back down towards the floor pan. I recall that from right when we got the car almost 5 years ago and each time I touch the FI power relay I’m reminded of it. 


> On Jan 11, 2017, at 9:24 PM, William J <catnine09 at dslextreme.com> wrote:
> 
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> Where these relays setup the same way on later models like a 73 ? I seem to recall mine has a brown ground wire either mounted to the screw on the relay mount tab not depending on the tab itself yet I could be wrong . I  need to look , perhaps if mine is loose or the relay contacts are not real good it might explain my low MPG and what seems to act as a rich idle . I know it's the original relay . I imagine one could use any 12 volt relay as long as it's amp correct like many of the newer relays I have hear that Ford used which were Bosch .
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Keith Park" <topnotch at nycap.rr.com>
> To: <type3 at vwtype3.org>
> Sent: Wednesday, January 11, 2017 5:35 PM
> Subject: Re: [T3] cool weather idle hunt
> 
> 
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>> that FI relay screw is a often forgotten weak spot that can leave you hung,
>> I remember Russ getting a great deal on a car once because of that....
>> 
>> if its loose it can have a high resistance, that would effectively give the
>> electronics a low system voltage, could be intermittent and have different
>> effects over the warmup curve, not noticable as much at speed but way too
>> rich at idle.
>> 
>> Keith
>> 
>> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: type3-vwtype3.org [mailto:type3-vwtype3.org-bounces at lists.vwtype3.org]
>> On Behalf Of Daniel Nohejl
>> Sent: Wednesday, January 11, 2017 8:19 PM
>> To: type3 at vwtype3.org
>> Subject: Re: [T3] cool weather idle hunt
>> 
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>> When replying, please consider trimming your message. Thanks! :)
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>> 
>> Well, we lifted up the back seat and found that all the connections running
>> to/from the battery were okay. However, the ground screw for the FI power
>> relay was really loose and I was able to easily rotate the connector side to
>> side. We started up the car and waited for the idle to come up. It started
>> to hunt but when I moved the ground wire, it stopped. We turned the engine
>> off, tightened up the ground screw, and went for a ride. For the first time
>> in months, there was no hunt at cold idle at all!! We drove around for a
>> while with the lights on and there was no lope whatsoever but that's an
>> intermittent and can't be ruled out yet.
>> 
>> I'm reluctant to think that everything is fine, but that might be because I
>> don't understand how a loose ground screw at the FI power relay would cause
>> a hunt/lope at cold idle and an intermittent low lope and stall once warm
>> while having no other effect on drivability. Can someone enlighten me? Was
>> my experience with stalling the car by plugging the AAR hose another red
>> herring?
>> 
>> Oh...I think this has been covered before, but why do I never get Bob's
>> messages directly to my inbox? I only see them if I go to the type3.org
>> archive or when someone quotes them. Is this a gmail/AOL thing?
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
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