[Vwdiesel] no start, relay and a smoke puff

[Tad]

Chris, I'd start with checking the ground path between the starter and
battery.  It sounds like you've got a bad connection that is
backfeeding current through whatever path is available (the TPS wire
in this case).  Not sure how the GP relay fits into the picture
though...

On Wed, Mar 14, 2012 at 2:02 PM, Chris Jude <vegbenz300 at gmail.com> wrote:
> Folks,
>
> For the last couple weeks I've bee having an occasional no start situation
> with the 85 Jetta.  It's not every time, but occasionally the car wont
> start, and sometimes it won't start and there will be a small puff of smoke
> from the fuse box area.  I've noticed that the insulation of the Brown wire
> going to the throttle position sensor switch is melted.  When I remove the
> glow plug relay the car will crank and start fine (sans glow plugs).
> Last week, after this happened a couple days in a row, the battery died.  I
> tightened up a wire going to the alternator and that seemed to fix that
> problem, and the car started regularly for several days, no problems.
> Today the problem came back, with some smoke, I haven't looked yet to see
> if there is another fried wire.
> Any thoughts on where to look?  I don't see any bad connections at the fuse
> box, and the glow plug relay pins look fine.  The battery is charging as
> well.
>
> Thanks,
> Chris
> 1985 VW Jetta NA
> Pittsboro, NC
> _______________________________________________
> Vwdiesel mailing list
> Vwdiesel at vwfans.com
> http://www.audifans.com/mailman/listinfo/vwdiesel