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Subject:Re: More AC woes...
From:mark drillock
Date:Tue, 19 Jul 2005 10:32:58 -0700

Unless there has been a wiring degradation this is of no big concern.
The Fuel Injection and ignition components work fine during starting and
at that time the alternator is putting out nothing and the starter is
dragging the system wide battery voltage way down. Yet the engine starts
fine, low voltage be damned.

VW in any case put the FI and Ignition on their own direct voltage feed
wires, separate from the rest of the vehicle and right from the
alternator in most models. The voltage drops seen up front in the dash,
that get worse as more stuff is turned on such as headlights and fans,
has minimal effect on the voltage seen by the FI.

Mark

Stan Wilder wrote:

>I don't want to play the devils advocate here but it seems that the
>customary low voltage in Vanagons could be causing some of the Fuel
>Injection and CO sensor false readings or faulty input.
>The Bentley's manual specifically states that on the Porsche 911 in years 87
>and up it absolutely requires a minimum voltage to make the Engine
>Management system function properly.
>In many cases a re-grounding routine can solve some of the problems.
>I found that I needed an extra quality ground lead attached to my engine
>case on my 83 Westy for everything to function properly. The extra ground
>made the engine start faster and the starter turn faster.
>On my 66 Westy it required several new and additional frame to body ground
>wires to get the headlights, turn signals up to full bright.
>Small thing but in the broader scheme of things you have to remember that
>Vanagons always had some sort of Port Of Entry or Add on Air system that
>wasn't quite up to par when it was new from the father land.
>
>Stan Wilder
>Engine Ceramics
>214-352-4931
>www.engineceramics.com
>
>