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Old 10-03-2012, 10:18 AM
Philoprof Philoprof is offline
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Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 99
Quote:
Originally Posted by pawoSD View Post
Sounds like over voltage protection or voltage regulator on the alternator. Have you let it idle and put a volt meter on it to make sure its charging properly? Should be 13.6 to 14.1 volts at idle with a healthy system.
Thanks for the reply. I checked the alternator output, and it's fine.

Quote:
Originally Posted by pawoSD View Post
Also, the idle should not be rough...what type of spark plugs are you running? They should be non-resistor.
I'm running NGK non-resistors with Bosch resistor wires.

Quote:
Originally Posted by pawoSD View Post
Rough idle could be a sticking idle valve, might want to take it out and clean it if it hasn't been touched in a long time.
I cleaned the ICV out recently, and replaced the Idle control unit, because the idle was surging. So that problem was solved.

As for the problem I posted, someone in the SL forum suggested that the problem may have been caused by a defective switch over valve, which failed to properly advance or retard the distributor when I turned the defroster off, or by the distributor's advance/retard mechanism being stuck.

So, I applied 12V to the switchover valve, which caused it to click. But I still have to vacuum test it and the distributor to see if they're functioning properly. However, as the car's been running well, I haven't been able to reproduce the problem, and, hopefully, it was a fluke. But, as you know, these things rarely, if ever, just disappear.
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1981 380sl
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