Date:         Sun, 7 Jan 2001 23:25:45 -0500
Reply-To:     Marc Perdue <marcperdue@ADELPHIA.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Marc Perdue <marcperdue@ADELPHIA.NET>
Subject:      Re: Funky Idle Issues and a note on the shipping issue (long)
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

Hi all,

I tell you, there's nothing like having such a great resource as the
people on the Vanagon list, even if everybody does get carried away with
such issues as shipping from time to time.  FWIW, my .02 cents on that
subject:  Everything I've ever received from the Bus Depot has been, in my
opinion, poorly packed, with the exception of the skylight which they
probably got packed from Trevor Reid, the Skylight Guy, though nothing's
been broken in shipment.  UPS's customer service flat-out sucks.  They
dropped my tranny from Long Enterprises and broke part of it, but in the
interest of getting the tranny in and avoiding the months that I was told
it would take to rectify the situation, I paid to have the part welded
(also paid to have the tranny pulled out and re-installed after welding,
which also sucked).  I'll probably go to Daryl Christensen at AA Transaxle
next time I need tranny work because none of the parties, Long
Enterprises, C.J. Buggs in Fishersville, VA, or UPS wanted to have
anything to do with setting this situation right.  In the case of the
broken mirror, UPS broke it but, given my experience with BD's packing, it
probably should have been packed better.  Being such a trivial expense
relative to the hassle of trying to get UPS to set things right, The Bus
Depot should probably go ahead and send out another mirror . . . HOWEVER,
what they decide and how they do it is best left up to the three parties
involved.  I think it's fair enough to say that Ron has ample feedback now
on how his customers feel about the way things are handled on his end.  I
leave it in his hands to decide what he wants to do with it and I think we
should move on to all the other problems that are plaguing our beloved
beasts of burden.

To that end, a follow-up to my original questions on the Funky Idle:

1) Joel Walker, whose response to my questions is listed below, has always
been very quick and forthcoming with very useful suggestions and often the
right answers to the many questions I've had in the past year.  So has
Robert Lilley.  I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you, Joel and
Robert, publicly.

2) All I've had a chance to do about the idle problem is to check to be
sure the throttle switch is clicking.  It is.  My meter is an old analog
meter and seems to be malfunctioning, so I haven't checked the switch with
my meter yet or checked the gap to see that it's adjusted right.

3) I haven't checked the idle stabilizer valve for correct operation yet
either, but the hose that connects to the right side of it doesn't seem to
fit too tightly . . .

4) I'm trying to familiarize myself with all the parts as of yet.  I
assume the coolant temp sensor mentioned by Joel is the Temp II sensor?
Still trying to find that . . . is this the temp sender that's directly
below the thermostat housing?

5) There's a coil spring on top of the throttle switch that seems to be
pretty dirty.  As a result, that thing, whatever it is, that the spring
seems to control does not move too smoothly.  What is it and can it have
any effect on the idle?  Let me guess, that's actually the throttle valve
itself?

6) The ground strap and its connectors appear to be fine.

7) The oxygen sensor was replaced shortly before I got the van, but I
didn't get a chance to check the wires yet.

And that's all I have to report on the Funky Idle issue for now.
Marc Perdue

Joel Walker wrote:

> all that sounds to me, like the cold start/running system is messed up
> ..
> so either
> - the coolant temp sensor is dead or dying
> - the throttle switch is messed up for it's idle setting
> - the idle stabilizer valve is not opening properly
> - the idle stabilizer module is screwed up
> - the ground strap to the engine is missing or badly corroded (left
> side, from cylinder head to the wall, by the ignition coil).
> - maybe the oxygen sensor is flakey, due to melted wires that are
> shorting out onto the metal of the exhaust pipe or perhaps due to
> rain/snow being splashed up onto the wires.
> - all of the above. :)
>
> hope it helps. good luck!
> joel