[V6-12v] all quiet on the AUDI Front

[James4ihl at aol.com]

Tom --

Thanks for all that info on electrical testing procedures, etc. Very 
informative! I've cut/pasted the last paragraph however, because it's strange that 
yesterday, while driving around, I thought pretty much the same thing myself - I 
wonder if it's anything to do with a dodgy contact in the throttle pot - so 
it's interesting you'd had a thought on the same lines given the nature of the 
problem. It seems to fit because:
a) it seems to occur more or less at the same point on pressing down the 
throttle each time (neither light, nor heavy, but on the transition between the 
two.
b) it happens more when cold, or when the car has been idling (so there's no 
current going through that part of the pot to clean it temporarily, or for the 
voltage to re-establish a connection.
c) it occurs less and less the more you drive, particularly if you're 
accellerating using the whole range of movement of the throttle a lot, which would 
suggest it could be 'cleaning off' the pot as you drive, or similar.

So yeah, good thinking... is there a way of 'cleaning' those pots though, or 
do you just replace them at this age?

Cheers
James
In a message dated 22/3/04 11:59:26 pm, tomchr at ee.washington.edu writes:


> I wonder if your problem could be caused by dirt in the throttle
> potentiometer... When pots fail they'll typically open intermittently on
> the wiper connection, but if you turn the shaft back and forth, they regain
> contact. It's a longshot, but it does make sense based on your description
> of the problem... But I've never cured a hesitation problem so I'm guessing
> here.
> 
> Tom