Re: the continuing cold start valve saga (solved, I think)

["A. Bjorkheim" <andreb@u.washington.edu>]

> The cold start valve operates under what conditions?

    Operates when the temp of the motor is below 95F, usually.  Or
  until the element in the thermo-time switch is heated to 95F.  I
  guess the usual time it takes to heat to that point is 8 seconds.
  
> (which
> terminal/terminals getting voltage/ground).

    Both the thermo and cold start have 2 wires.  Each one has a red w/blk
  wire that is connected to terminal 50.  Terminal 50 is the one that is
  connected to your starter solenoid.  Once you engage the starter
  solenoid, both the thermo and the cold should get voltage in that red
  w/blk wire.  The other wire that is on the cold start is the same wire
  that goes to the thermo.  The 2 units are connected via that wire.  In
  my case it is green w/wht. This wire controls the ground for the cold
  start.

> What does the thermo time switch do to shut it off? Supply it with
> ground? Voltage?

    To shut off the cold start, I think the green w/wht wire goes
  from grounding the cold start to floating, meaning it is just hanging,
  not connected to ground or 12.6v 

> When the
> thermo time switch is cold, should it have continuity or not?
> 
    Well, I think my thermo is bogus so I cant give you accurate readings
  as far as ohms goes, but I would think that if you measured the
  resistance between ground and the terminal on the thermo, the terminal
  for the green w/wht wire, it shoudl read very minimal ohms.  This is
  because when the engine is cold the cold start needs to have a ground.
  Once the car warms up, the resistance between the body and the same
  terminal on the thermo, the one for the green w/wht wire should now
  be infinite, theoretically.  

> My car is currently thus:
> 
> The thermo-time switch appears to be open when cold. (It has a bunch of
> resistance across its terminals, but not infinite). BOTH terminals of my
> cold start valve plug are getting battery voltage when the starter is
> operated. My cold start valve IS operating. One terminal of my thermo
> time switch is definitely grounded permanently. WTF? How does this
> system work? The Bentley is completely unhelpful, as it contradicts
> itself several times. I don't get it!
> 
    Hmm, strange.  Is yours a 16v?  I know they make diff thermo-time
  switches for 8v and 16v so that could be it.  Perhaps yours operates
  that way, but mine needs to have one wire of the cold start grounded
  for it to operate.  All I know is my Bentley contridicts itself by
  telling me to jumper my thermo, but in another section it says to
  insert a test light into the cold start plug.  Well, if you are doing
  the tests and you want to bypass the thermo by jumpering the terminals,
  you will now have both wires as hot, at least in my case, and thus the
  cold start wont work and the light wont come on.  Brian Hannold pointed
  out in his 1980 Bentley that nowhere in there does it say to jumper the
  thermo.  I can only think that the 8v thermo is different from the 16v
  thermo in that way.  All I know is I need a new thermo cuz when I
  ground the green w/wht wire on the cold start, the engine starts right
  up.


  Andre'
  Neon Green 79

Am I a guru on this subject yet  =)

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