> Date: Sun, 16 Jan 1994 22:17:05 -0600 (CST)
> From: phile@stpaul.gov (Philip J Ethier)
>
> John R. Lupien writes >
>
> > "effects of legislative and litigious idiocy". The "must step on clutch"
> > idea was a reaction to the Audi 5000 lies about unintended acceleration.
>
> No way. My 1976 Chev pickup had a "must step on clutch" interlock.
>
> > Once it became clear that in fact what had happened was that a large
> > number of idiots couldn't be trusted to tell the difference between the
> > gas pedal and the brake pedal, lots of car companies decided that they had
>...
Actually, there was a bit more to it than that. (in my opinion)
I have done a bit of research on K-Jetronic FI systems, like those I believe
the cars in question used, and I have come to this conclusion:
The KE-Jet system has an (optional?) electronic box that functions only
to maintain a constant idle by supplying more air past the throttle plates, no
matter what the load. (ie: auto trans in "D"; A/C compressor enguaging, etc.)
The K-Jet and KE-Jet systems have a cold-start injector, and supplementary air
bypass valve, the latter of which funtions for 10-30 seconds. (depending on air
temp, and application) This is the equivalant of a fast idle cam in an American
downdraught carbuerator. Now imagine starting your car (with a US carb.) in the
cold (as in most/all Audi cases) and the fast idle cam is still set, (you have
to tap the throttle to release it) and you drop it into gear, what happens? The
car lurches _slightly_. Now imagine the same circumstances, but with a constant
idle box trying to raise the idle back up to where it was before being dropped
into gear! -SCREEEEEEECH!- If the car is idling high enough when cold, this may
be a problem with _any_ KE-Jet equipped vehicle. Maybe Audi just had their cold
idle a bit too high, or maybe they have a lower "stall speed" on their torque
convertors, either of one can cause exactly those results.
Kevin
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