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Subject:bad thermotime switch symptoms???
From:Wil Haslup
Date:Wed, 30 Nov 2005 18:13:40 -0500

Hey all,

My '80 air cooled/non CA with conventional points has been having
trouble holding idle since I gutted a failed catalytic convertor last
fall.  I had thought because of the decrease in back pressure it was
just a bit off spec.  Today I installed a new cat. and tried setting
dwell and timing but had some trouble.  I got dwell within the spec.
range but can't seem to nail the timing.

(btw, Bentley does a good job of warning you about using testing
equipment/dwell meter/timing light/other 12 dc by connecting to the coil
for fear of damaging the computer.  Is this likely?)

It's also still running pretty rough so I'm thinking I've got another
issue.  Aside from my small oil leaks which haven't gotten any better it
looks like there may be a leak around my thermotime switch.  It may be
oil spray or it may be a slight amount of fuel.  It's hard to tell.  I
replaced a leaky cold start valve last fall (definitely fuel coming from
that) but it's still damp in the area of ahead of it under the plenum.

I'm going to pull my plugs and check for burn marks around insulators
tomorrow to rule out arcing or fouled plugs.

Does the '80 air cooled/non CA have an idle stabilizer?

Thanks...

--

Wil

-- http://www.charmfx.com/

"When you are down and out something always turns up - and it is usually
the noses of your friends."
-- Orson Welles

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