Ever Victorious

Yes, I know they go to the + and - terminals of the coil, because that's where they were pulled from, but the little snothead that pulled the other coil out didn't put this coil in its place like I asked, so I have no idea which little wires go to which terminal. That is what I am asking. I sadly do not have the luxury of a manual to assist me in this. My only manual is for EA82's and EJ22's.

Noone has an answer?

Gotta love a good EA81.

It's gotta be the lynch pin. Some day you'll be driving along and the car will completely fall apart line in a cartoon. :-p

When one replaces the spark plugs on a t-coupe, particularly plug #2, one would be wise to disconnect the battery. I uhm... created a short between the battery and the alternator. And somehow managed to not shock myself in the process. But I let the special smoke out of the alternator.

Well, my brother-in-law's genius friends have screwed me over somewhat. I had taken Freebie's coil out and tried it in the t-coupe to see if that would change anything (because the spark was kinda weak) but it didn't. I then got sick and couldn't change it back. In the mean time, my BIL came to buy freebie off of me, and needed the coil put back in it. I told his friend to remove freebie's coil and REPLACE it with the turbo's original coil. Of course, he didn't do that, and now I have 5 little wires that I have absolutely NO clue where they go. Only one I know is the plug wire, which is obvious. Anyone with a tcoupe able to tell me where each of the 5 wires goes?

I'd be very interested in knowing the outcome of this, as the digi dash in my T-coupe went bad after replacing the battery cable.

I read somewhere (can't remember where) that when you test for spark, that the spark is supposed to be BLUE in color. I just re-tested the spark on my EA81T and found (based on testing off of the wire for #3 cylinder) that the spark is YELLOW, with some blue mixed in. Is this a bad spark? Does this mean my coil is bad? If so, will the coil from a standard EA81 work, even though it's for a carby?

Yup. Your buddy Ken Pratt says he is "collecting" applications for a while... that's at least what he told me.

I'm searching all the usual places (Monster, the times, etc.)... but I just wanted to see if anyone here has any job openings that might suit my needs that are at their workplaces or nearby. I recently became unemployed, so I am able to start at any time. I'm an experienced computer hardware repair technician and cashier, but don't have any other experience. I am a quick learner and am willing to do anything so long as it is: 1) legal 2) full time (37.5+ hours) 3) at least $12.50/hr 4) within 25 miles of everett. Anyone know of any such positions?

Seattle Thunderbirds? UNCLEAN! UNCLEAN!

Ah, good, I was looking for a new job... expect me to apply.

Haven't smelled the exhaust. Did check the plugs wires, thought they were off but I was wrong. Wire from dizzy to coil is OK. no clue how to check ECS wiring...

OK... verified that every single vacuum line I could find is correctly attached and not split. All fuel lines appear to be correctly attached, and I know fuel is getting past the filter. By suggestion, I sprayed a bunch of starter fluid into the TB, put the car back together, and fired it up. The car starts IMMEDIATELY and runs until the starter fluid burns up, then immediately dies. So I assume this is a fuel delivery problem I'm looking at here?

Had a spare hose from another intake. Replaced it, no effect. <bangs head on desk some more>

I remember seeing the T on the line, so it must be the EGR line. Critical, I assume?

Check your heater core hoses. The return line on my XT developed a gash, and sprayed coolant out towards the distributor and ig coil. Sometimes it wouldn't fire at all or fire right, until it dried out. I also didn't notice the coolant leak immediately, until I looked down and saw the temp creeping up.

That's a lot of lines. Though now that you mention it, I have a DUH moment... something I should have thought of before. On the firewall side of the throttle body, just behind where the air intake tube joins the throttle body, there are 3 small lines, possibly vacuum (I don't know how to tell what is what). If I remember, the line on the center one separated. Does anyone know what these 3 lines are?

OK, I was under the impression that vacuum could only be tested while the engine is running... if this is true, how would one test it?

OK... new update, really tearing my hair out here... Changed all plugs. 1 was badly fouled, 3 were badly worn. Spark should be good in all cylinders. Also, I know fuel is getting to the cylinders because this time there was the unmistakable smell of fuel on all 4 plugs when I pulled them out. why won't it fire up? ARRRRGH!

Well, for reference, there was an '80 GLF (loaded) hardtop 2WD automatic in cherry condition for sale in Seattle for $550 recently.

I've heard that some better body shops and paint suppliers can custom mix a paint, then bottle it in an aerosol can. Might be worth checking out.

More info: I've so far been unable to twist my hand to a degree necessary to disconnect the line from the bottom of the fuel pressure regulator and check for vacuum. However, a couple other things I've checked: Plugs: Pulled #3 plug after turning car over twice for 5 seconds each time, to check for fuel on the plug. It is difficult to tell if there is or not. I occasionally got a slight whiff of it, though that could have been my right hand, which was wearing a glove that still had some fuel vapor left on it. (I was holding the plug with my clean left hand). The plug is D-I-R-T-Y... Looked like sludge/oil on it, the same crap that was on all of the plugs in Freebiemobile when I changed them. Spark: Yes, with brand new NGK plug off of wire #3. Unknown off of installed plug, the battery died before I could test it (currently trickle-charging). (The above two tests were suggested by Mike @ Smart Service) Any more ideas?

Hey, at least you were in the general vicinity. I couldn't do better than "that canister thingy" without looking it up. No dice there... does exactly the same thing the car did BEFORE replacing all the fuel junk, but now the regulator is a LOT noisier.

OK... is the diaphram inside the regulator itself? If so, how exactly am I supposed to look at it? and what am I supposed to be looking for? And the suction side of the pump is what, the top?