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RE: argh! moss gasket lottery.

To: "'Barney Gaylord'" <barneymg@ntsource.com>,
Subject: RE: argh! moss gasket lottery.
From: "Garner, Joseph P." <JPGarner@UCDavis.Edu>
Date: Wed, 14 Nov 2001 11:16:54 -0800
what would we do without you barney?

That makes absolute sense. it never freezes round here, so i guess it is
academic!

cheers

Joe

__________________________

Dr. Joseph Garner,
University of California,
Department of Animal Science,
One Shields Avenue,
Davis,
CA 95616
USA

Phone: (530) 752 1253
Fax: (530) 752 0175


> -----Original Message-----
> From: Barney Gaylord [mailto:barneymg@ntsource.com]
> Sent: Wednesday, November 14, 2001 2:00 AM
> To: Garner, Joseph P.
> Cc: mgs@autox.team.net
> Subject: Re: argh! moss gasket lottery.
> 
> 
> At 12:00 AM 11/14/01 -0800, Garner, Joseph P. wrote:
> >....
> >.... i discovered a mysterious white plastic part between my 
> carb and the 
> >manifold, .... inside, and looped around the mixture 
> pasageway is what 
> >looks like an induction heater coil .... the part has two 
> spade terminals, 
> >the upper was connected to the +12V line, the lower to the 
> induction coil. 
> >The other end of the coil would have been grounded against 
> the carb .... 
> >any ideas? experience?
> 
> Uh, yup.  There may be a little gadget on the side about the 
> size of the 
> first joint on your finger where you found the spade 
> terminals.  That would 
> be a thermoststic switch (possibly under a little domed 
> cover).  When the 
> ambient temperature drops below freezing (or mabe as low as 
> 20dF), the 
> thermostat closes the contact.  When you go to start the car 
> in such cold 
> weather you can switch on the key and wait for about half a 
> minute for the 
> heater element to warm up, in which case the engine should 
> fire up much 
> easier, as the heater is helping to warm the intake air to 
> better vaporize 
> the fuel.  Very shortly after then engine starts this device 
> should warm up 
> enough to open the contact and turn off the heater.  But 
> don't bet the farm 
> on it actually working.
> 
> I had one of these on a then new '69 Austin America (don't 
> ask), and it 
> also had a band heater wrapped around the top air chamber of the SU 
> carb.  These two heaters combined drew more current and 
> supplied more heat, 
> and it actually seemed to work quite well.  Given the 
> appropriate half 
> minute to heat up before cranking the engine, it was a very 
> reliable winter 
> starter.  Then one day the temperature dropped below 0dF, and 
> the car did 
> indeed start as planned, but with the temperature that low 
> the thermostatic 
> switch stayed closed for a very long time and appearantly 
> burn itself up, 
> and the next time it wouldn't start.  The dealer replaced the 
> part under 
> warrantee, but a week later in sub-zero weather it did the same thing 
> again.  After the third burnout it got to be Spring, and 
> before it got 
> really cold again the warrantee had expired, and I don't think I ever 
> bothered to get it fixed again.  If I had the same problem 
> now I would 
> probably bypass the thermostatic switch and wire it to a 
> heavy current 
> toggle switch or a relay, and include an indicator light to 
> remind me to 
> turn it off.
> 
> Barney Gaylord
> 1958 MGA with an attitude
>      http://www.ntsource.com/~barneymg

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