Hi all, My car all of a sudden barely running. Based off the symptoms I believe it is the Bosch protection relay. I am just not sure which one it is. I was told it was under the passenger footwell plate. Can anyone confirm?
A 1980 308GTBi (K-Jet without Lambda) does not have a protection relay. What "symptoms" are you having? Weak smooth running (probably a bad bank of ignition), weak rough running (probably a CIS issue), just a single cylinder missing, etc.?
Hi Steve, When is starts, it just runs rough and pops. You can step on the gas as the engine won’t really react besides more and louder popping. The condition went away when the car warmed up to almost full temperature a few times, but now it doesn’t come out of the bad running state. The few times it went back to working it was almost like a thermostat flipped a mode change. I am Including a picture of what I was Rolfe to look for. The relay under the footwell. Image Unavailable, Please Login
As a further note, I tried swapping out both the fuel relays with other ones in the panel that were the same as the rest. No effect.
I think that (red) relay in the passenger footwell is a tachometric relay (112198) for a US version 308i that disables the air injection system and/or EGR system when cold at high engine RPM or something like that (so nothing really to do with basic engine operation) -- but I don't see the ECUs for the slowdown warning lights in that photo? What version 1980 308 GTBi do you have? US or euro? One of the beautiful things about the K-Jet without Lambda system is that it has no electronics to go wrong (just some simple constant +12V heaters). With your symptom, I'd start the diagnostic process with measuring the various pressures in the K-Jet system -- regulated supply pressure, cold WUR control pressure, and warm WUR control pressure to see if they are OK, or not (along with having a general look around to make sure something in the air intake system hasn't cracked/separated)-- JMO.
Is there an aux air valve? I had a QV and 328 ... if there were leaks in the system it would run poorly .. until the holes closed up when it was warm... or the other way around?
Hi Spirot, I fired it up today and as usual it ran like crap until it warmed up and then all of a sudden I could step in the gas and the engine came back to life. Took it out for a drive and ran flawlessly. My problem will be as soon as it gets cold and try to restart it. It will be indriveable until it warms up to about 175-195. Until it warms up stepping on the gas makes it just want to stall and backfire more, However when it gets to temperature at some magic time, the engine goes back to being normal. It is the weirdest thing.
This is why you have to confirm/deny if the WUR is operating correctly -- the WUR should add enrichment during cold-running (by lowering the control pressure), and the WUR should add enrichment when the manifold vacuum drops during throttle blips or high load (again by lowering the control pressure). Rant off -- Good Hunting!
Thanks Steve, Sounds like that is the most likely culprit. Assuming the WUR is the problem, I assume the WUR can be rebuilt. Is this a job for the home hack mechanic, or does it need to be sent out to an expert? If so, who does them?
I think I'm with Steve on this - seems like WUR... but I would also check vacuum hoses as well just to check. My 308 had one hose with several pin holes in it, and was brittle so when it got warm it worked good as the rubber expanded a bit... when it got cold it ran badly.... again that was a 308 qv... so not the same system as yours. I think the WUR may be something you send off for repair... or get a NOS / Rebuilt one.
This kit is available on eBay. Doesn’t look too bad for the home hack mechanic. Thoughts? https://www.ebay.com/itm/385413901949?_trkparms=amclksrc%3DITM%26aid%3D1110006%26algo%3DHOMESPLICE.SIM%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D267025%26meid%3D8947a6ca6837427eb50e3ae81b6a3061%26pid%3D101429%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D12%26sd%3D163516556325%26itm%3D385413901949%26pmt%3D1%26noa%3D0%26pg%3D2332490%26algv%3DSimplAMLv11WebTrimmedV3MskuWithRevOptLambda85KnnRecallV1FitmentPromotionM2CPCAutoManual%26brand%3DUnbranded&_trksid=p2332490.c101429.m2460&itmprp=cksum%3A3854139019498947a6ca6837427eb50e3ae81b6a3061%7Cenc%3AAQAJAAABQInZv9%252BILEzGP6O3L3ZvKA8HuOTtyBQHBSGlMRNCiQ3%252B3nn4RdfzEpWTt0ivC0MBSxwFCKqtZlNcZr8lVeiUiV0qZjs2xvFGTrnAIA7k1omI1x70YttYp6ifPnBzJabe5hujrz%252BL4AD%252BWdyWJ4DR5Vma7I%252Fh%252FgZxNAjEy1aL2PVra4Nz0ybbV4ImDuTAiRKdGEGuFRn9zcgadBmnZAhQQveFb07YHeoAGrTMDv74HER3ObVT4PuMD4wGA%252F8duoAd2X2Iw4KszHIdqoeDz6tf3hRq%252FchSl%252FiwfFUfm5oUZ%252B5KRjFMH%252FprEWNzMfGUxt58IjcJlZqYarWcVziXQZabj1y9%252Bluboe%252FGeCE6Ep%252B3IHisAdg62hLjp51peX4e60LneEc4IiEmjVVyzObD56QLD6%252FHJEXrIeQWirpUqhPZhC%252BS%7Campid%3APL_CLK%7Cclp%3A2332490&itmmeta=01J1SVME704RXWJYS4P1AVXF26
My thought is you should check out tinyurl.com or a comparable website to help you shorten those obnoxious long links.
My WUR on a 84 308GTSi QV was rebuilt by CIS Flowtech (https://cisflowtech.com/) in Alabama. They are widely respected for the fuel distributor and WUR rebuild work.
Thanks ds190. Might choose that option. Appreciate the contact info. Anyone out there tried rebuilding the WUR using the kit on their own?
