CIS-E brain damaged? (+the history of Allyns roccos - #1-#8)

[amalventano1@comcast.net (Allyn)]

(large sig at end of post.)

Being the electrical guy that i am, i hate to go mechanical on this one but...
    Your electrical problems shouldnt be enough to cause no response for long periods of time when
hitting the gas at idle. This happened to me once and it was because the rings were on their way
out. I drive the thing for more than a year like that, troubleshooting everything under the sun, no
dice. Rings decided to completely go on a road trip, 600 miles from home. I ended up leaving the
thing on the side of the road (yes, a rocco, a very clean white 88 16v that would give bretts a run
for its money) i was stupid back then).
    Short version: check your dry compression NOW. At least get the piece of mind that your bottom
end is in good shape.
Al

Allyn Malventano, ETC(SS), USN
#1-88 rocco 16v (r.i.p. - somewhere in baraboo, WI)
#2-82 callaway kamei gtx (prev owner thrashed block, couldnt fix it at time, took all parts and
dumped it. i was an idiot yet again as it was a euro gtx, shipped over, fitted by callaway
themself.)
#3-85 rocco 8v (got me around for a while till it started pouring large heaps of black stuff out the
exhaust, donated parts to rocco #4)
#4-87 16v bud got for me when out of my first deployment. prev owner got disgusted when it threw a
rod after $3000 in engine work and GAVE it to him (for me). Got me around for a while but developed
engine troubles, leading to me getting a donor for it (#5).
#5-87 16v i picked up in OH. Fatal body damage but ran fine for 2 years before retirement. Got 485
miles on its last tank of gas, thus i kept the 16v and junked the car. Also junked #4 upon getting
the Rieger (#6).
#6-87 Rieger GTO Scirocco 16v (daily driver, 170k, rocco #6) - came home with a trophy last weekend!
#7-86 Kamei Twin 16V Turbo Scirocco GTX ('it has begun', rocco #7) - is currently still a running
and driving clean 8v. Still gathering parts/tools for the transformation.
#8-88 16v, picked up at local shop for $100, fatal body damage but lots of good parts, including 2.0
16v, glass, seals, interior, full lock set, etc. Not to mention the rear end is perfect and will be
the twins trailer donor.

Jetta #1 - 87 Jetta 8v Wolfsburg 2dr (daily driver, 260k, 0 rattles, original clutch, driveshafts,
wheels :)
(i dont think sandei will go through jettas like i go through sciroccos).


----- Original Message -----
From: <treed2@u.washington.edu>
To: <scirocco-l@scirocco.org>
Sent: Saturday, March 23, 2002 3:25 AM
Subject: CIS-E brain damaged?


> Hey everybody,
>
> I know it's been a long-ass time since I've been active on the list but
> I've been occupied with other things (school, mostly).
>
> Anyway, with spring on its way I went out to work on the 16v today and
> after coming inside and reading the Bentley for a while I think I may have
> stumbled upon a lead to solving my drivability problems.
>
> For at least a year now (probably longer) I've had poor low end power and
> an idle that occasionally dips and can't be brought back up with throttle
> (it's as if the gas pedal isn't even connected). This is most pronounced
> when cold. This winter it has been terrible - I frequently have to sit in
> my car and warm it up for 8+ minutes just to be able to get enough power
> to back it out of the parking space without frying the clutch. I feel like
> I'm abusing my baby every time I drive..
>
> Anyway, one bleak October a few years ago it was raining hard and my
> windshield seal was leaking filling my fusebox with water. Eventually I
> got that fixed but one of the things that was damaged in the process was
> my knock sensor control unit(?) (the one with the vacuum line connection,
> whichever that is).
>
> Basically, I know this because it is supposed to send out a (-) signal to
> the fuel pump relay when the engine is running and after the water got on
> the fusebox it stopped doing this. I carefully checked all wiring and even
> checked for the presence of the signal right off the connector for the box
> and it was not there. So, desperate for transportation, I wired the fuel
> pump relay so that it ran the pumps whenever the ignition was on. Good
> enough, I thought.
>
> Maybe not. I noticed a slight reduction in performance at the time but I
> (stupidly) didn't make any connection between that and the electrical
> trouble. In fact it was so long ago I'm not even sure how dramatic the
> difference was. But that winter the car started driving worse and worse
> (as it always does now when it gets cold) and I started testing things and
> replacing suspicious parts.
>
> So when I was measuring my DPR current today I found that it was
> absolutely steady at idle.. 9.95 mA. When actuating the throttle it would
> change but at idle it was constant. The O2 sensor is relatively new and
> its hooked up. I've double checked practically everything and cleaned
> every underhood connector like crazy, so I thought this was a little odd.
>
> To the point -- I read through the whole fuel system chapter tonight in
> preparation for a repetition of all the electrical tests tomorrow and
> found this paragraph rather interesting:
>
> If the differential pressure regulator current reads excessively
> high, recheck the installation of the jumper wire at the
> temperature sensor connector. If the current does not increase
> when the full throttle switch is closed, check for a faulty full
> throttle switch or a faulty rpm signal from the ignition control
> unit as described below under Control Unit Inputs.
>
> The current would climb/fall between 16 mA and 20 mA for 20 - 30 seconds
> immediately after starting before settling in to an exact 9.95 mA. That
> struck me as maybe being 'excessively high'. I didn't try closing the full
> throttle switch but I definately will tomorrow. The thing that struck me
> though, was that maybe the WHOLE knock sensor control unit is toast ? My
> car is running just that bad .. that could very well be the problem!
>
> The bad one (I _think_) is the one with the vacuum input and the yellow
> thing on the side. I know its not the tiny one with a 7-pin connector on
> it because I've already replaced that (by mistake, I thought I was
> replacing the KS control unit). Anybody got one of these things in a parts
> car ?
>
> Tomorrow I'm building an LED test light again and going through every
> electrical test in order so that I can figure out if this is indeed the
> case. Whether or not I get a flashing LED on that rpm signal wire should
> tell me if thats the problem. Its my understanding that the DPR reverts to
> a limp-home mode when it doesn't have an adequate signal and it seems that
> is what it has done but at idle where the mixture is most important it is
> so off that it is very noticable. And lately even at 3 grand the car
> doesn't pull like it used to.
>
> I've got to fix this! I drove my friend's shit brown Tercel the other
> day and I'm embarassed to say that I think it's got more low-end balls
> than my car! Help!
>
> -Toby
>
> --
> '87 16v
>
>
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