***"the only time the M terminal is in the circuit is with the switch in OFF"*** Yes, that is valid and correct. M is for "Magneto". This engine, as most OPE, uses a magneto based spark ignition. Magneto coils produce their own electrical power for the spark when a magnet on the flywheel passes the magneto as the crankshaft spins. Magnetos do not need any external battery power to operate. What you see on the schematic is how the engine is "killed" when the key is turned OFF. Turning the key to OFF connects the magneto kill circuit to ground, and this stops the magneto from producing spark. Most seat switches and interlock systems also have a way to connect the magneto kill circuit to ground to kill the engine the same as if you turned the key off. I suggest you be very careful when checking circuits wherein you might be "probing wires" with a "hot wire"!!!!!!! If you inadvertently send 12 volt power back on the magneto kill wire, it will do exactly that.......kill the magneto! Then you can post and tell us what a Kohler magneto costs :^) Oh, I guess I spoke too soon when I warned that chafed or pinched wires seldom turn out to be the culprit. Just my luck to say that and then have your issue be caused by that. Realistically speaking though, chafes and pinches are rarely at fault, so it's usually best to check the things that can be checked without any hacking first. Glad you followed your intuition based on the evidence you saw and are now up & running.

I am not familar with the Volkswagon power plants, therefore can only speak in generalities. You said you have the 1.8T engine; I assume this is 1.8 liter, turbo-charged. Since you have power after getting underway, the turbo must be working at that condition. However, you are experiencing bogging off the line and this can be due to several things. It could be: more than normal turbo lag, lean out of fuel mixture, improper ignition advance, weak iginition, or the mass air flow sensor. What about that replacement mass air flow (MAF) sensor? It could cause the problem you describe. You got a trouble code concerning the MAF, but was the engine yet performing as it should after this code was set, or did had the trouble begun? The replacement sensor was a rebuilt unit. How do you know it is working? Maybe the replacement sensor is no good or slow to respond. From what I know about MAFs, these have a 4-wire connector. Two of the leads supply a regulated supply voltgage to the sensor and the other two leads exports the signal. You do need a repair manual to sort things out. For example, one check on the MAF is to measure the supply voltage to see if it is present and of proper value. You'll need a manual that identifies the leads. When you disconnected the battery, you probably lost the volatile settings. This possibly incudes transmission shift points, radio station settings, and a few other things. The engine control computer does indeed reset engine management settings after a few cycles of warm up and speeds above 45 mph. After 3 of these cycles, things should be getting back to near normal. Most of the transmission settings will be restored in the first driving cycle assumming there were sufficient number of shifts to reset shift timings. Reverse shift is not used much and can be a bit notchy until several reverse shifts have occurred. There could be other problems. Have you read the trouble codes again? That'd be a good idea. If you do not have a code reader, go to a place like Auto Zone and they may read the codes for you. Do not reset the code until the problem is resolved. If all this is getting over your head, take it to the dealer or a garage you trust and have a set of diagnostics done. If could be something simple, like an oxygen sensor or a manifold absolute pressure (MAP) sensor. Several items were disturbed under the hood from recent repairs and maintence. Did the problem show up iimmediately after one of these repairs? if so, suspect items associated with that repair. For example, was the tubing reconnected to the MAP sensor? A significant amount of vacuum lines were replaced. What about the fittings? Were any of these changed? In todays auto systems, their can be "ported" vaccuum fittings present. Some of these are fittings may not be the usual, all hollow connector, but have a precision orifice in them. This orifice provides a calibrated constriction to air flow. Externally, these fittings appear the same as an ordinary fitting. If one of these fittings gets broken or dropped, it is easy to mistakenly replace these with ordinary ones.

Thanks, Kas. I was hoping you'd answer. You seem to be the resident expert on all this. Thanks for confirming my suspicion that a silencer is likely needed. As you said, I'll probably have to move to a design with a chase to hide the duct and silencer. Or maybe just a soffit above all the cabinets along that wall. That would save me from having to worry about what else to put above them. :-) I do like the look of the chimney hoods -- I'm going for a fairly simple, contemporary, but not uber-modern look -- but I don't see how I can make one work. Another question: does anyone know if inline blowers have to remain accessible for maintenance? If they do, then I have to use an internal or rooftop blower because I don't have an attic to put the inline blower in. I'm guessing the answer here is "yes", because from what I remember from the NEC, junction boxes and motors have to remain accessible. Even if it's not required by code, I don't think I'd want to rip drywall out to service a bad blower motor. regbob: I realize there's noise from air moving over the baffles, but there's also a fair bit of noise from the fan blades themselves. (At least on all the fans I have experience with.) So I'm pretty sure I want to go with an external fan, unless I can find an internal one that's extremely quiet. barjohng: The Vent-a-hood marketing says that their baffle-free design reduces noise, but after seeing the measurements some folks on the forums did I'm not sure I believe them any more. I also tried taking one of them apart at the appliance store to see how hard they'd be to clean. It was pretty easy, but not something I want to do when there's grease in there. The hoods look really nice, though. Finally, on the aesthetics: I don't think that will be an issue in my case. My duct will exit on a flat, 12' high roof in a spot that's about 20' away from the edge of the roof that faces my back yard. If I'm doing my math right, I won't be able to see it until I get ~50' away from the house. My neighbors on that side might be able to see it, but fortunately there's a big tree in the way. Even with an internal or inline blower there's going to have to be something up there where the duct exits, and an external blower will probably only add another foot or so of height. As for freezing, I live in the SF bay area. We get maybe 1 or 2 light frosts a year, and occasionally about 5 minutes of small hail, but that's about it. Laura

I've had my Kindle now for about 6 months and I love it. I've never had an electronic book reader. The Kindle is easy-to-read - I've had a problem reading books for a couple years with my changing eyesight. It's hooked up to Amazon's site, so you can peruse, try sample chapters of books, then decide to buy, then download a whole book in seconds. I also subscribe to the Wall Street Journal. Just turn the wireless connection on (no fee - it acts like a cell phone that way) and your subscriptions download automatically. You can't check your email or cruise the web - that's still in beta and very bad. But as a book reader it's wonderful. You can read it on airplanes if you don't turn on the wireless access. You can store lots of books and you can have Amazon archive your previously-read books so you can free up room on the device. You can read any and all of your books - the Kindle will take you back to the page you left off on any book. You can also bookmark pages, write notes, and look up words you don't understand in the built-in Oxford dictionary without leaving the page. It's great for anytime you find yourself waiting - doctor's office, etc. Just stick it in your purse (I know most you ladies are like me and carry behemoth bags!) and go. As a bookworm, I love it and I think it would make a nifty gift for any book-hound.