[T3] cool weather idle hunt

William J catnine09 at dslextreme.com
Tue Jan 17 21:03:03 PST 2017


I really can't say if the ECU's are having issues . AS far as I know the one 
in my 73 is still the original and I have a spare from a late 72 that I 
plugged in in 2009 when I had this hunting issue  and nothing changed. The 
one from the 72 has no sticker on it yet it seemes to work the same since 
they were both calif cars with FI . I know at some point the one in my car 
was accessed because the black rear trim panels fiber board was cracked and 
that panel is one section all the way to the rear seat area.

 I have no idea why anyone was in there . Every part of the car was there 
even on the engine. I do know the ground strap was hanging and the nuts that 
fit the studs of the auto trans mount were missing causing this bang when 
the trans shifted gears . I suspect either the engine or trans was out at 
some point. The engine was the proper year for this 73 , whether it was the 
original or not or repaired is anyones guess. I used the case out of the 72 
and the heads to rebuilt that engine and everything was the same .

 I never drove in salt or northern winter temps , it only gets to maybe 40* 
F here yet it gets plenty hot in the summer .

 I imagine if I end up with FI issues that need parts I cannot get I'd go 
with carbs just to be able to drive it. Even though carbs and manifolds are 
not cheap either. I also don't care for the idea of improper air filters 
drawing in hot air since the stock ones are almost impossible to find.

 My 66 bug and 68 Ghia I had in IL where it gets very cold , they had carbs 
and worked fine . Back then you could get anything you needed right from the 
dealer . They also had the 4 speed which I would prefer over the auto trans 
only because they seemed to be easier to deal with and there are still 
options today to get all the parts or an new one . I didn't have a choice 
when I bought mine in 85 and the 72 also had the same auto trans and diff.

 Hopefully your ECU issues will get worked out . I can say I would never 
rebuild my engine again due to the crap parts now days . I would just get a 
new engine from the best place that offers them and really hope I never 
cross that road. I did mine in 97 when parts were still available good 
german parts .
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Daniel Nohejl" <d.nohejl at gmail.com>
To: <type3 at vwtype3.org>
Sent: Tuesday, January 17, 2017 4:12 PM
Subject: Re: [T3] cool weather idle hunt


> ***********************************
> When replying, please consider trimming your message. Thanks! :)
> ***********************************
>
> O, boy, what a mess!
>
> Car started fine this morning but idled very roughly when cold. I made a 
> note to myself to adjust idle and timing after work in case changing the 
> AAR adjustment threw off the idle speed. I figured that was possible 
> depending on where the AAR was set when I last did the idle.
>
> After getting off the highway on the way to work, the motor stalled every 
> time I took my foot off the gas but for one time when the idle stayed 
> steady. After work, it took five tries to start the car. Very unusual as 
> it always starts on the first or second try. I pulled out of the parking 
> lot and stalled. I then proceeded to stall every single time I let my foot 
> off the gas but it drove perfectly well on the highway. I got close to 
> home and stalled at a light. This time it wouldn’t start. It caught on one 
> or two occasions but wouldn’t fully fire up. Then, it’d crank and crank 
> but nothing else. Of course it started pouring rain after a few minutes…..
>
> Anyway, I checked the following partly by myself and partly once Jessica 
> showed up (the benefit of breaking down only 2 miles from home)…the list 
> isn’t in sequence:
>
> —fuel pump relay clicked and pump primed when key was turned
> —FI power relay clicked when key was turned
> —MPS sensor plug wasn’t loose
> —all injector plugs were secure
> —trigger points connector was secure
> —injector grounds and ECU ground at case center line all secure
> —wires to generator were secure
> —12V to black/white wires from FI ground to T2 connector and 12V from T2 
> connector to ECU
> —resistance of both temp sensors was fine
> —dwell was ok and everything in the distributor looked fine
> —12V to coil
> —took out the ECU and verified that the plug wasn’t loose
>
> It was pouring out and I was staring at the ECU laying there in the cargo 
> area and decided to take the plunge b/c Jessica showed up with one of our 
> spare ECU’s. I plugged it in and the motor fired right up. Just to confirm 
> I wasn’t hallucinating, I tried the ECU I had just removed. No start. 
> Tried pressing on the harness in case it was loose on the card edge. No 
> start. Put in the spare ECU and it fired right up again and I drove home 
> without any problems!!
>
> So all along my "intermittent warm idle lope" was the ECU taking a dump 
> until it finally died?!?! Is that even a thing??
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> VWType3.Org mailing list - type3 at vwtype3.org
> To unsubscribe or change subscription options, visit:
> http://lists.vwtype3.org/listinfo.cgi/type3-vwtype3.org
> If you need more help, contact: gregm at vwtype3.org
> 


---
This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
https://www.avast.com/antivirus




More information about the type3-vwtype3.org mailing list