Re: UrQ FTCU ground on the intake - What the #@$%.

[Orin Eman <orin@WOLFENET.com>]

> Question: WHY THE $%&* DID AUDI GROUND THE FTCU
> ON THE MANIFOLD? Did they think "Lets run the most
> important ground wire on the car through a small gauge wire,
> through the firewall to a very hot and hostile environment where
> it's bound to fail and cause the owner much inconvenience and
> potentially kill him/her"

Small guage wire?  It's OK, there not much current going thru it.
It's just a ground return for the sensors which are mounted
to the engine block... and these sensors are the reason it is
done this way.  All grounds are not necessarily at the same
voltage  - there's 0.2V difference between the
ECU main ground and engine block on my 5k.  This will really
mess up a 0 to 1V signal (oxygen sensor!).
This is why O2 sensor meters should be grounded as close
as possible to the exhause manifold, usually meaning
the intake manifold.

> Solution - Can we just create a new power source and ground
> using audio quality distribution blocks and connectors and
> ground the whole mess to the body?

It might work, but then all your sensor returns would be thru
the main engine block ground strap which is carrying the
alternator output...  

One of the first things that Bellevue Motorsports did to my
ex-UrQ was add another ground strap from the intake manifold
to the body!

Orin.