This makes
me curious - can someone explain how the Bendix EFI unit worked
(okay,
given they were recalled, how it was intended to operate) without
writing
a book on the subject?
OK, here I go...... And please pardon the cross-post to C300 Club
members.
For reference, see the excellent photos at the noted website.
They were controlled by a "solid state" unit which was mounted in front
of the radiator shell for cooling. This unit was in the direct airstream
to receive maximum airflow. It also received rain, snow, sleet, salt and
bugs! All sensor input (temperature, atmospheric pressure, engine speed,
etc.) was fed into this unit which determined just how long each (Fixed
orifice) injector unit had to stay open to achieve a proper fuel/air
ratio. This information was then fed to a second distributor unit (see
Photo, mounted beside the distributor.) which routed the pulses to the
injector units. This unit was geared to the distributor drive.
Fuel was supplied by an electric pump mounted in the gas tank. It
constantly recirculated at a pressure of 30 psi., and the left-overs were
returned to the fuel tank. The fuel supply pipes mounted on the engine
are a complete circle fed from both ends in order to not starve injectors at
the "End of the line". Fuel was injected into the manifold at the intake
valve, not into the combustion chamber.
Two large twin-valve throttle bodies controlled airflow much as the
carburetors used to do.
At that time, Chrysler Engineering was organized into many separate
"Labs". We (mechanics and technicians) were rigidly unionized and thus
required a loose cooperation between the electronics and the fuel systems
labs. We did all the hardware stuff and a technician from the
electronics lab worked on the "Black Box". I had the great good fortune
to be the mechanic assigned by the fuel systems lab to these units from the
beginning, since I'd also built and tested the MECHANICAL system Chrysler
built. (Didn't know about that one, did you?!) I even got to drive
one to Colorado, then Texas and back.
Joe
Savard
Lake Orion, MI USA
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