carburetor problem 81 fuel injected

[arctichare]

hey all-

i'm a new 81 rabbit c owner and have some questions about my carb. i have noticed that the idle fluctuates quite a bit, tending toward the lower end. when i was driving last night, it began to lose power during acelleration, and then suddenly died. when i went to start it back up, it cranked over and over and over but wouldn't start. i popped the bonnet and looked all over the carb and finally after 20 minutes it just seemed to decide to start again.

i noticed that the three electrical connectors on the passenger side of the carb are missing wires, and i would assume that is a problem. i also noticed that the ground wire from the carb to the engine was hanging by a thread so i recrimped that connector. i seems to be running better now, but i am concerned about those connectors. can anyone tell me where they are supposed to connect to? another funny thing. . . when it is running and i spray the drivers side of the carb (outside of the carb mind you) with carb cleaner, it idles awesome for a few seconds, then goes back to the normal fluctuating idle.

anyone with some wiring diagrams or pictures that can help me out? thanks!

-bobby b

[tripseven]

Its been my experience that when shooting carb cleaner around the carb while engine running and the idle changes then you have a vacuum leak somewhere. Try to identify the exact spot, such as hose fittings or carb-to-manifold gasket, where your shooting the cleaner and that will most likely be your vacuum leak as long as your not shooting it in the intake! Be careful you dont catch fire with too much cleaner and best if engine isnt really hot! Vacuum leaks will also cause the engine to idle poorly and loss of power like you described. Sorry I cant help you on your wiring issue cuz I have an 81 diesel. Hope this helps.

Clint

[arctichare]

Thanks. I'll take a look at that. I hope it's as easy as a vacuum leak.

[jaylind]

Did you fix it? are you running stock carbs or special setup? I had a 76 Rabbit with dual makunis 40mm never ran I bought it from a guy to work on since he didn't know how to "tune" a dual carb setup. Needless to say neither did I and my friend backed out on the help. I kept the rims and had the car towed.

JAy

[arctichare]

Well, here's what I've done. I found a diagram/picture of the carb in the Haynes and rewired all the carb connections to match it. I really have no idea if that did any good. I have a Solex 34 PICT-5 carb and the one thing obviously a bit "off" is the fact that whatever throttle spacer it sits on seems to be made of rubber and when I grab the carb and push it back and forth it gives quite a lot. That doesn't seem right and could be a source of a leak. I still have starting problems where it dies right after start unless I really gas it for a minute. So I still suspect the electric choke is off/broken.

I replaced the thermostat (troubleshooting led me to believe it was bad) and drove it at 65MPH for about 30 minutes and then in town traffic for another 30, and it never died or showed other bad signs. So that's an improvement. But I am worried that this winter the starting issue will only get worse. We shall see. I ordered a Zenith 2B2 carb (the only suitable replacement I could find) to try if this one becomes too much of an issue. The only other thing I can think is the fuel pump?

[Jeyana]

I would really check the car for vacumm leaks before you start buying a bunch of new bits for it, unles your sure its not a leak. I have a 87 Cabriolet that that started acting strange, bad ideling, when starting i had to gas it to keep it running, engine dying fro no aparent reason, etc, etc, after man parts later, yup, it was a vacumm leak, throwing off the timing or something i think, its amazing what a little leak can do to your car. Newbie by the way So this is just my experience so far.

[jaylind]

Well, here's what I've done. I found a diagram/picture of the carb in the Haynes and rewired all the carb connections to match it. I really have no idea if that did any good. I have a Solex 34 PICT-5 carb and the one thing obviously a bit "off" is the fact that whatever throttle spacer it sits on seems to be made of rubber and when I grab the carb and push it back and forth it gives quite a lot. That doesn't seem right and could be a source of a leak. I still have starting problems where it dies right after start unless I really gas it for a minute. So I still suspect the electric choke is off/broken.

I replaced the thermostat (troubleshooting led me to believe it was bad) and drove it at 65MPH for about 30 minutes and then in town traffic for another 30, and it never died or showed other bad signs. So that's an improvement. But I am worried that this winter the starting issue will only get worse. We shall see. I ordered a Zenith 2B2 carb (the only suitable replacement I could find) to try if this one becomes too much of an issue. The only other thing I can think is the fuel pump?

First try to fix the throttlebody gasket. If you are getting air in thru there is will throw of the fuel distibution and cause some of these problems. A rubber gasket huh.
JAy

[arctichare]

Ha. Go figure. Now my jeep has a vacuum leak. As soon as I get the Jeep sorted I'll have to get back to the VW.