From: darling@simlab.arc.nasa.gov on behalf of Dave Darling [darling@simlab.arc.nasa.gov] Sent: Tuesday, April 20, 1999 2:06 PM To: joseph Cc: 914 Subject: Re: [914] coldstart & too hot? At 1:17 PM -0700 4/20/99, josephus@preferred.com wrote: > (1) When cold, engine hard to start, wants to start, lots of >key-off-and-on to prime up the FI rails, plus lotsa pumping on the gas pedal >when it does sorta start, gets it going, but it won't idle, then after a >couple minutes of warming, idles super slowly, just barely keeping going, >then after a couple more minutes, warmer now, settles down into a perfect >idle, fires up immediatly for subsequent starts, till the next day when it's >cold again...I'm thinking that my cold start valve isn't working, or maybe a >prob with the way my vac hoses are arranged... First step [everyone say it with me, now--] Check your ignition system. Make sure it's in good shape. Next: This sounds like a failed aux air regulator. The cold start valve only has an effect while cranking, and not always then either. The CSV only gets +12V while the starter motor is actually cranking--it gets its power from the same yellow wire that goes to the starter. The ground is interrupted by the thermo-time switch unless the temperature is cold enough. And I forget what "cold enough" is. You can check the two pins on the CSV connector, though. One will show connectivity to the thermo-time switch, the other will show connectivity to the starter or the pin in the 14-pin connector where the starter wire goes to. (Check the wiring diagrams in your Haynes or on Pelican's site.) Anyway, the AAR should be open (can blow through it) when cold, and closed (cannot blow through it) when warm (engine on for ~10 minutes or so). The electrical connection on the bottom should get the same signal as the fuel pump--make sure it has connectivity to something in the fuel pump cir- cuit. Your mixture could also be off--a rich mixture can bog the idle down to "very low". Check the resistance of the head temp sensor and check the connection with the wiring harness. A lean mixture would generally result in a "loping" or "hunting" idle. > (2) The passenger side of the engine seems to be getting much hotter than >the driver's side, (subjective opinion here, but I'm still getting some >smoke out of the heat exchanger hole on the passenger side, and I really >cleaned those suckers when I replaced the push rod tube seals)...no visible >oil leaks... Tougher call. I do know that it is tough to get all the oil out of a heat exchanger, so it might not be that you're getting more oil in it. And oil can make its way up into the heater hoses, and that is something you will just about never get rid of. My windows still haze over once in a while, and it's been ~4 years... > I know I need to replace those two spark plug wire rubber gromment thingys >where the wires go thru the engine tin, and I'm not all that sure that the >engine tin on the right side is all there and perfect...could these two >things cause the right side to run hotter? How do I troubleshoot this, >(one-two-three for compleat idiots...) TIA...fire off some quick advice, >then you can go back to figuring out for sure what those circles with the >square inserts are for... Yes, either or both of those things could cause that side of the engine to run hotter. After all, the cooling air is right there behind those spark plug wire grommets. And the sheetmetal is there for a reason--particularly the ones that fit right up against the bottom of the cylinders and all the stuff associated with the oil cooler and cooling flaps. Troubleshoot? Not sure. Check all the diagrams you can find for the layout of the sheetmetal and see if your car matches it. For the grommets, get new plug wires, get and modify the Corvair wires (a la Bob Hoover), or try some aluminum flue tape. (That last is PURELY temporary--don't let it become a permanent fix!) Good luck! --DD Dave Darling 74 914 2.0 (kaput) darling@simlab.arc.nasa.gov "If it ain't broke--fix it until it *is*!"