<html><head></head><body><div style="color:#000; background-color:#fff; font-family:times new roman, new york, times, serif;font-size:16px"><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1488406279913_8896">Cranking has lasted about 5 seconds, then another five, then it started, again...twice with backfires and exhaust smoke. Lately, it took cranking about 7 or so seconds (a long time), maybe two or three attempts, to get started. One time, after a very cold night, cranking weakened the battery...quickly...to the point of needing a jump from a neighbor's borrowed jump-starter.</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1488406279913_8929"><br></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1488406279913_8930">But...Update: Fiddled with the car yesterday. Pushed fuel pump plug in and out. Same with grounds and connections under back seat...Volt Reg, relay, etc, incl. re-tightened screws, and then every connection in engine compartment also in and out. One of the triple ground cluster on top of engine had wire pull out of connector. Voila! Replaced connector.</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1488406279913_8995"> Then re-set points (they were a tad close), gentle clean of contacts, and re-set timing.</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1488406279913_9042"><br></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1488406279913_9043">Car started right up, no hesitation or effort at all. Later than night...started right up again, as it did today. <br></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1488406279913_9071"><br></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1488406279913_9086">Over history, I've found that checking and freshening up connections solves more problems than can be counted. Usually, however, there's no way to know which connection was the culprit...unless a broken or loose wire is found. Don't know if that one loose (but not disconnected) ground wire was the problem.<br></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1488406279913_9130"><br></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1488406279913_9131">As for the fuel system...I always turn the key about 2 or 3 times before trying to start, especially when car's been sitting a while. Often, a squeal comes from somewhere (the pump?) that weakens and then goes away when fuel lines are all primed, apparently. Then I start the car. Is this a normal T-3 F I syndrome?<br></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1488406279913_9346"><br></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1488406279913_9345">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</div><div dir="ltr" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1488406279913_9330">Message: 1<br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1488406279913_9292">Date: Tue, 28 Feb 2017 18:30:06 -0600<br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1488406279913_9293">From: "Jim Adney" <<a href="mailto:jadney@vwtype3.org" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1488406279913_9294">jadney@vwtype3.org</a>><br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1488406279913_9295">To: <a href="mailto:type3@vwtype3.org" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1488406279913_9296">type3@vwtype3.org</a><br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1488406279913_9297">Subject: Re: [T3] Hard Starting<br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1488406279913_9298">Message-ID: <<a href="mailto:58B6160E.31304.236BB0@jadney.vwtype3.org" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1488406279913_9299">58B6160E.31304.236BB0@jadney.vwtype3.org</a>><br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1488406279913_9300">Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1<br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1488406279913_9301"><br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1488406279913_9302">On 28 Feb 2017 at 19:16, J. Jonik wrote:<br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1488406279913_9303"><br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1488406279913_9304">>
T-3, 1971, FI, Std.??? ---Battery is certifiably ok, as are
connections, but it still takes some cranking, maybe two or three
attempts, to start the car, even in mild weather.? Sometimes it starts
right up, no problem.<br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1488406279913_9305">> <br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1488406279913_9306">> Twice it happened, after
cranking, that when it started, there was a backfire...once a cloud of
exhaust with the backfire. ?? And there is a slight whiff of gas, though
no drips apparent anywhere.<br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1488406279913_9307">> Where to start looking for the problem?? What are prime suspects?<br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1488406279913_9308"><br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1488406279913_9309">The most common problem is air in the fuel lines and the solution for <br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1488406279913_9310">this problem is one of my primer switches. A switch allows you to run <br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1488406279913_9311">the pump for a few seconds to clear any air out of the line, before <br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1488406279913_9312">you run the starter and start to draw heavy current from the battery.<br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1488406279913_9313"><br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1488406279913_9314">I have 2 switch kits. The $10 one just has a cheap pushbutton switch, <br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1488406279913_9315">with wiring, mounting bracket, and instructions. The $30 one has a <br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1488406279913_9316">heavy duty 3-way switch that give you 3 options: Prime/Normal/Off.<br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1488406279913_9317"><br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1488406279913_9318">Both mount out of sight under the dash. Both prices include shipping.<br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1488406279913_9319"><br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1488406279913_9320">There's no way of telling whether this is your problem, but it's a <br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1488406279913_9321">very common problem, and I have them on all my FI Type 3s, because <br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1488406279913_9322">they save a lot of wear and tear on the starter and battery: Just <br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1488406279913_9323">prime the system for a few seconds and then start the engine. If it <br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1488406279913_9324">doesn't solve your problem, then that eliminates one possible <br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1488406279913_9325">problem. <br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1488406279913_9326"><br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1488406279913_9327">It's not clear to me how long you have to crank before the engine <br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1488406279913_9328">starts. Is this 5 seconds or 40 sconds?<br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1488406279913_9329"></div></div></body></html>