RE: used parts/bad mpg

[Chris Coracini <Coracin@usdl.com>]

yet another reason to check and clean those ground points and electric
connections!!!

chris
86 16V scirocco
>
>
>I'm not sure which year you have, but sounds like an early MkII with
>Bosch K-Jetronix.   This may sound weird, but a similar problem
>plaqued my son's '84 Scirocco Wolfsburg.  The mechanic could find
>it after we diagnosed the usual stuff.  The symptoms were an uneven
>idle, mileage near 20 mpg, and an overrich smell in the exhaust...
>otherwise it worked fine.
>
>The solution was a new ground cable from the engine to the chassis!
>
>After careful observation over a couple of weeks we noticed (we used
>to carpool to work) that the problem with the idle was related to a
>low voltage reading.  In the morning when it was cool the alternator
>would charge fine, but in the afternoon when the A/C was on and the
>engine was hot the voltage would drop to about 10 volts when the
>idle became unstable.  The low voltage was due to excessive voltage
>drop in the cables from the engine/alternator case to the
>chassis/battery.
>We were loosing about a volt, which caused the alternator to think that
>it had charged the battery and to drop off current.  The extra current
>for the A/C then drained the battery down.
>
>When the system hit about 10 volts the cycling on the O2 sensor
>would saturate to the rich side...voila!  the culprit.
>
>So, morale of the story, check the voltage on your engine
>control module for anything less than about 11 volts.
>
>Mark

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