That was some great troubleshooting and in the end a very minor problem. Glad you thought to try that screw driver trick too.
I wonder if the other injector plugs are in the same condition? They are all old plastic.
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Ooh, excellent work!

One quick thought: Maybe the connector is fine but the intermittent connection is inside the injector itself. Pushing on the connector also flexed the injector and momentarily restored the connection.

Just thinking out loud, that’s all. Might be worth duplicating the fault and then push on the injector (if reachable) instead of the connector. Could save a lot of grief.

 

exactly, I pulled it apart last night and cleaned and tightened the connectors and re-assembled. I'm really kicking myself for not measuring the resistance of the injectors as I'm betting No1 is open circuit when cold. Yes, I still have the same issue. I'll verify as soon as I get a chance before I order in a new injector. Nearly all the injectors I can find online are incredibly cheap and look to be made of plastic (so a big no way from me). I've never had an injector fail before on the electrical side!

seeya
Shane L.

 

I don't have the wiring diagrams handy, but there's probably a big connector in the middle of the run between the injectors and the computer. You could measure the resistance from there and compare with the others.

If replacing just the suspect injector, I'd suggest swapping a known good injector from another cylinder into that position. Install the replacement in the newly vacated spot. That way if the same code returns, at least you'd know the new injector wasn't bad from stock. I had that happen when a coil failed. The new replacement was also bad. Talk about a troubleshooting nightmare!

Make sure to install a quality name brand injector. No white-box specials from eBay.

 

I finally got around to looking at this again (just as well we have plenty of other cars here to drive). The injector is open circuit. I tried another injector and its 14.3ohms. So there is my answer. I've never heard of a fuel injector dying electrically before. It works again when it gets hot.

The only injectors I can find in Australia are cheap chinese ones. So i think I'll order in one of those, while we wait for a refurbished bosch injector to come in from the US or UK.

seeya
Shane L.

 

Well the injector finally arrived. I purchased a "refurbished" injector out of the USA. The car runs perfectly now. Infact I'd say that injector was dying when I purchased the car. It now has a rock solid smooth 600rpm idle in gear. and doesn't really fluctuate as the A/C cycles on an off (admittedly its 20degrees cooler than it was 4 weeks ago).

fingers crossed this is it for a while. and the car can just be driven

seeya
Shane L.

 

excellent. In my neck of the woods it is 20 degtees hotter than 4 weeks ago. Whoopee summer coming

 

Oh, you guys use that weird old temperature scale from the stone age. So that would be about 42degrees F cooler ? ( it was 35+ degrees C 6 weeks ago, today its 12degree C ).

 

This graphic explains the difference between the two systems:

 

Been an interesting thread with a good fix. I find it curious you had a code for a bad injector, confirmed the fault, yet never got a P0301 code for low power from #1 cylinder. The P030X codes are much more common, meaning low power from a cylinder with multiple possible causes.

The P020X codes are much more specific, pointing to a problem with the injector's electrical circuit. A dead injector would certainly kill the power output from that cylinder. I wonder if the narrowly defined P020X codes inhibit the computer from also flagging the more generic P030X codes? Another mystery of life...

 

yeah i know. But hot is hot no matter what scale. Great a/c a must where i live and you too i imagine