[urq] This week's issues: Cold start, Spedo, Radio

[Buchholz, Steven]

> My speedometer is going haywire.  On the way to buffalo, it would bob
> severely around the speed I was going, and on occasion would jump 40
> mph or so.  It would stay at 120 or so, still bobbing, for a few
> seconds before returning to normal speed.  I could also tap it and it
> would return.  On the return trip, it finally came to rest at about
> the right speed (judging 3100 rpm to be about 80), but still made the
> same whirring noise that it would make when it jumped 40mph.  Anybody
> have any idea why it's doing this?  Any suggestions on a fix?

It could be binding in the cable ... but based on your description it
sounds to me like there is a problem inside the speedometer.  The
indicator needle and the speedo cable connect to two pieces inside the
speedo that are not supposed to touch ... a magnet couples rotation to
the needle which has a return spring.  If you hear scraping in the
speedo it is a sign that things are touching internally ... 
> 
> Number 2 is my radio and clock.  After a brief repair issue, I
> returned to my car to find that the radio didn't have power, and
> neither did the clock.  Could it be a fuse?  Which one, in an early 83
> fuse box?  How do I remove the proper fuse?  I don't really have any
> experience with these older fuses.

Page 45 of the IST document has the fuse locations ... check out:

	http://www.quattro.ca/Urq/urq-IST-MaintAdj.pdf

Scroll down to page 45 and you will see that fuse #7 is responsible for
the clock and radio ... and the cigarette lighter and trunk light.  I've
had cigarette lighter sockets come loose and short themselves out
internally ... but I'll bet someone tried charging the battery via the
cigarette lighter (since its so tough to pull up the back seat and get
to the battery proper ... 
> 
> Lastly, any suggestions on cold starting?  I had a very big issue this
> weekend, and I'm just wondering if you have any suggestions.  It quite
> possibly was several issues outside of the weather (flooding,
> battery), but even jumping it did little.
> 
I'm a firm believer that the ECU begins to malfunction when the battery
gets weak ... and the chemical reactions inside the battery are
adversely affected by cold.  I know your experiences indicate that it
had to be a bit more than that ... perhaps the fuel pressure was a bit
low due to the cold and low voltages ... hard to say ... but I have also
experienced very hard starting when the car sits in very cold weather
... even on a battery that seems to have little problem cranking.  One
more thing ... I'm pretty sure the Hot Start Pulse Relay contributes to
hard starts due to flooding the engine ... but your engine was very
cold, so the thermo time switch should have already had the cold start
injector on.  

I guess the one thing to consider is getting a bottle of "starting
fluid" if you plan on parking the car out in sub freezing weather ... 

Steve B
San Jose, CA (USA)