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It rambles a bit but it covers the stuff Ive learned over the years.
Fuel Injection· It's your friend! By: Keith Park
Some pointers and explanation for the D Jet Type 3 FI System.
How many of us have a Type 3 where the FI has been ripped out or "Nobody
can fix it"· Doesn't it seem odd that the simplest production Electronic FI
system has stumƒaédmechanic that just got that new corvette running
again?? Why??
Well its because (and I may get in hot water here) most mechanics are just
trained chimps.. they can run the equipment and replace the parts that it
identified but they just don't understand how the systems work. The D jet
systems are really Idiot simple, crude, but very reliable with only a
couple things that need to be kept up. I don't pretend to cover all that
is in the Bentley manuel so if you don't have it get it as there are many
variations on the same basic theme but I will cover the basics and what
will happen if they are not there.
I will begin with the 1973 E System, I think it's the simplest most evolved
system and the most stable. Everything centers around the control unit, NO
its NOT a computer but is VERY reliable and you can almost assume it is
good as long as no one has connected the battery backwards or something
equally as stupid. The Control units must have adequate voltage to them or
the systems run rich so make sure your charging systems is up to snuff and
using Bosch regulators. This unit then connects to the engine sensors and
controls through a wiring harness which can be in rough shape after all
these years if people have abused it. Each wire is numbered at each end to
make it easy to identify and trace (if the # isn't cut off) and the numbers
are identified in Bentley. Some of the rubber boots are avail through WCM
and all the little spade connectors are removable from the plastic blocks
and avail through various suppliers. If you recondition your harness
replace only the ones that are in need, DON'T lose track of the wires (1 at
a time) and SOLDER all the connections. IF you are unsure of your skills
here have some electronic tech do it for you.
Next we'll visit the Pressure sensor, it takes the intake manifold
pressure of the intake and through a bellows assembly changes it to an
electrical signal to the control unit which can then decide how rich to
make the mixture. The engine will not run withouΊ»if an internal
coil opens up (not likely) it will cause a no-start and the Bentley shows
how to test these. What generally happens is that on the early cars people
overfill the air cleaner and the oil works its way into the sensor and gums
things up. The bellows can also develop a leak, and these cause the engine
to have poor transitional response, run too rich, or hunt a lot at Idle.
The 1971 007 sensors are particularly troublesome as the bellows are more
fragile and prone to failure. Trouble shooting is to change them out, it's
the easiest and they are widely avail used and is a part you should have in
your extra parts box. Coils can be tested via Bentley and if they are good
it will at least start.
Next we'll visit the Throttle position switch, mounted on the right
side of the intake air distributor all it does is tell the computer what
position the throttle is in and in the later cars how quickly it changes
which serves as the accelerator pump on a carbed car does by giving
additional fuel if the throttle is depressed quickly. With great care the
covers will come off and the contacts can be cleaned with a Q tip and
alcohol but BE GENTLE there fragile. If improperly adjusted or loose they
can cause idle problems and dirty or broken contacts can cause throttle
response to be irradic. These are generally very reliable and not a
problem. The 73 cars will idle without them attached at all.
Now well visit the most common problem· the trigger contacts in the
base of the distributor. All they are is a set of points that deliver a
square wave signal to the computer telling it when to fire the injectors.
Unfortunately points get dirty by nature and when they go open the engine
may cut in and out, run on 2 cylinders only, or not run at all. Points can
be cleaned by using a business card soaked in alcohol dragged between the
points and released before the edge. NEVER file them as they don't burn
with the little current they carry and it will ruin them. With excessive
wear, like 150K mi oZÓ áthe nylon rider blocks can wear down and cause
the points to not open. This can be compensated for by bending the
stationary contact in VERY slightly, like .010"; then check with an
Ohmmeter how they all work in the distributor with the distributor removed.
On occasion the rivets can go bad on the assembly and give a few ohms of
resistance so the ohmmeter should read no more than .1-.2 ohms with the
contacts fully closed. Reassemble with just a thin smear or Bosch
distributor cam lube on the distributor shaft. Do pay special attention to
the harness connector, they are critical here too and tend to get abused.
Make sure it is inserted in the proper direction as they can get stuffed in
backwards on occasion and this will give hesitations on acceleration beyond
half throttle.
What's next??? Let's do the temperature sensors! The control unit
only needs to know 2 temperatures, that of the engine which is done on the
3&4 head and the air temp of the intake air which is done on the intake air
dist. When the head sensors go bad the car will track poorly during warmup
, run too rich or be hard to start. Sometimes they can go intermittently
open and the car will cut out completely at speed then back in again. You
can check it with an ohmeter or by subbing in the appropriate resistor to
check for intermittent's. See Bentley for the values. The other sensor
will cause more of a consistent rich or lean problem if bad, it will be
more subtle and be careful as it is easy to get its 2 pin connector
confused with the cold start injector connector. Again check with an
Ohmeter.
The cold start system, on the later cars it is a simple thermo switch
that switches in the cold start injector below 32F and a cold start
injector that squirts in a little extra fuel. This system is subtle too, I
have started mine pretty cold without it connected. The 68-9 cars had an
extra relay and a crude electromagnetic valve for the cold start injector.
It might be better to disconnect them in warmer climates in thŸ¬§ as
they had the tendency to flood.
Next well visit the intake auxilliary air regulator, all this does is
to let a little more air around the butterfly valve so the car will have a
high idle when warming up. Its controlled by the engine oil temp and is
adjustable so if your fast idle is too slow remove the Air reg and you'll
see a little slide adjustment, loosen the screw and slide it all the way to
the + and tighten it.
Other than needing this adjustment they are usually bulletproof.
Now this is all there is to the electronic part of the system.. now
Ill go into the fuel section, without which the electronics is useless.
Keep in mind that any vacuum leaks will drive the system nuts so everything
must be tight.
THE FUEL DELIVERY SYSTEM
Well start with the safety aspect, the fuel pressure is 30PSI so every
fuel line should be 10 years old or less, if in question replace them all,
its easy and many a Type 3 has gone up in flames from an old leaky fuel
hose.
With that said, the fuel pump is the heart of the system, very
reliable but sometimes get gummed up if sitting for a while. It is
operated through a relay under the dash from the control unit. You should
get 1.5 seconds of fuel pump pressure whenever the key is turned on, if you
don't then trace out why, just take a voltmeter and trace things out. Dirty
trigger contacts can cause this too. The pump only takes fuel from the tank
and recirculate's it through the system and through a pressure regulator.
This also is very reliable but when mine went it let the pressure go too
high on startup and the car flooded easily. That's all there is to it! So
if the car doesn't run at all make sure you has fuel pressure before
proceeding any farther with the control part of the system.
Oooops! I did forget 1 important part, the Injectors themselves! All
they are is an electromagnetic valve operated by the control unit that with
the 30PSI of gas entering them produce a nice fine spray of the appropriate
durrR7They are pretty reliable but when the cars sit the internal
rubber O rings can rust around them and leak. The injector will then leak
gas between the plastic and metal sections and is not repairable. The
injectors can also suffer from a plugged up screen in the nozzle, some are
screens and some are a brass casting but eather way you'll start off with a
low RPM miss on the affected cylinder leading to a dead cylinder as it
plugs up more.
Now your ready to intelligently troubleshoot your D jet FI, keep in
mind that I have left out a couple valves and such that are used on the
Automatics as I have no experience with them BUT the BENTLEY must be used
in conjunction with this article and they are covered in there. Just keep
in mind, this is NOT as complicated as it looks and since you have already
made the purchase of a Type 3 your intelligence is NOT in question! Relax,
and check things as much as possible before replacing them and feel free to
ask questions of the listee's (Vwtype3.org).
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