Date: Thu, 9 Aug 2001 11:38:12 -0500
Reply-To: Alan Watts <alan@16COLOR.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Alan Watts <alan@16COLOR.COM>
Subject: Re: Starts then won't....
In-Reply-To: <20010809152138.65599.qmail@web9208.mail.yahoo.com>
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I had the same problem a few weeks ago and it frustrated me to no
end. After dealing with it for a couple of months while on my
vacation (and carefully planning long-term stops and pumping gas with
the engine running), I got home to fix it and started by unplugging
the o2 and temp sensors. It still wouldn't start. The next day
however, the van miraculously healed itself and has been fine ever
since....very wierd....but of course, this is from a van that had a
coolant leak and fixed itself after going to get new t-brackets and
hoses. So I suspect that maybe one of the sensors had a bad
connection and I brought it back to life by just unplugging and
plugging it back in..? Try getting a wire brush and cleaning your
contacts first. If that doesn't work, (something I was going to do
at the next stage) check for a spark by pulling the hot wire that
goes into the distributor and hold it close to a piece of metal on
the engine. Have someone crank the engine and see if it sparks. It
would be wise to use a tool with a rubber grip and not be hit by the
spark. This problem is annoying to troubleshoot cause you have to
drive for 30 minutes and then you have 30 minutes to track down the
problem....so get all your tools ready!
Good luck,
Alan
At 8:21 AM -0700 8/9/01, Steven Johnson wrote:
>Well, I've been driving my '91 Camper during these
>warmer months of summer to take advantage of it's
>AC. I backed out of the garage and it stalled and
>wasn't able to get it started again. It turns over
>just fine but it just won't catch at all. Now I know
>I've been having trouble with it during the warm-
>up cycle and kind of suspected the coolant temp
>sensor. What I didn't check this morning was the
>O2 sensor. I probably should've disconnected it
>to see if I could get it started. Doh!! Anyway,
>I can hear the fuel pump going okay when I just
>turn the key. I pulled the distributor cap to make
>sure the rotor looked okay as well. No problem there.
>Any other places to check? I'll start with the O2
>disconnect when I get home (if it's cool enough) and
>proceed from there.
>
>Thanks for your hard earned talent...
>
>Cheers!
>
>Steven
>
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