Motronic 4.1 newbie--fixed it!

[Derek Kaznoski]

I disconnected the battery, but this didn't help.

However, while inspecting the joints between the plenum and engine, I 
noticed a large 3mm gap at the first cylinder.  I repositioned the rubber 
sleeve and the car is running and idling again.  Needless to say I'm 
psyched!

My little mishap with the injector connector which caused the backfire was 
ironically my saving grace: the backfire blew the sleeve far enough out of 
place that even an idiot like me could see the gap.

After I repositioned it, I could no longer hear the hissing sound here.

I'm concerned, however, with the fact that the sleeve is spanning a gap of 
about 2 to 2.5 cm and just barely covers it.  It seems that the plenum 
chamber isn't close enough to the engine here.  Any tips on how to adjust 
the positioning of the plenum here?

The idle is still a tad low, but basically the same as when I purchased the 
car.  I think it would be better if the plenum were properly positioned, but 
maybe not.  It just seems that malpositioning here would cause subtle 
airflow changes which could adversely affect performance.

Also, the AFM currently on the car is not the original.  The previous owner 
replaced the original with a refurbished one, but then found that the 
original wasn't bad after all.  I still have the original one.  The 
refurbished one feels much stiffer than the original, though still has 
smooth operation. The original one has noticably less resistance in its 
flapper opening.  Even after detensioning the spring by 3 notches in the 
refurbished one, it's still a lot tighter than the old one. Should I put 
this old one back on?  Would this improve idle/performance? (I know there is 
a lot of debate over this)

Thanks,
Derek
'90 Alfa Spider

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