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On 25 Oct 99, at 9:38, mark kaylor wrote:
> well, the starter i supposedly made work again failed on me again this
> morning. same scenario as the other day: cold weather, two cranks and
> then nothing. its like if i don't start the car on the first two tries it
> gives up. i tried half an hour later and it worked. what's up? before i
> tightened up the battery cable at both ends and it fired right up.
Get a voltmeter and a pair of metal thumbtacks. Gently tap a
thumbtack into the top of each battery post and connect your
voltmeter between the 2. Next time you try to start, watch the
voltage and see if there is a sudden dramatic change in voltage
(under the same conditions, cranking or not) as you try to start the
car.
The voltage should be lower any time you are cranking the engine
with the starter, and you should see the voltage slowly work its
way down, but if you see a sudden downward shift in voltage that
can only mean an internal problem with the battery. In general such
problems are not fixable except by replacement of the battery.
> another thing....i checked my oil today and wow!! smelled like i took my
> gas cap off...very strong gas smell in my oil, oil was black and a little
> runny....bad rings or just a symptom of running rich?
Engine oil always smells of gasoline, so this is not a good test
since it is too subjective. Instead you should keep track of your
gas mileage and compare with the rest of us. Typical normal
mileage numbers run from 21 to 28 mi/USgal.
Jim
-
Jim Adney jadney@vwtype3.org
Madison WI USA
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