Date:         Sun, 20 Jan 2002 17:35:29 -0500
Reply-To:     brad barcom <bbarcom@HOME.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         brad barcom <bbarcom@HOME.COM>
Subject:      High Idle 1987 GL
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

Hey everyone-

I am new to this list-serve and am hoping someone else out there has had the
exact same problem as I am having.  It's been my experience that these vans
tend to fail in the same way -- if only I would have known about this group
when I was trying to solve the problem of my van cutting out at speed.  Only
by accident did I come up with the pigtail solution during a conversation
with fellow Vanagon owner on trip through Boulder CO.  Best $104 I ever
spent on vacation.

Anyway, I have searched the past 5 years of this serve and have found many
good tips about how to address this problem.  Now, however, I am stuck and
need the advice of someone who has already traveled this road.  Here is my
problem:

Like others, several years ago my 87 GL stopped idling in the 850 +/- 50
range that Bentley suggests and started idling around 1200 RPM's during the
colder months of the year.  At that time, however, this did not seem like a
big deal, so I just chose to live with it and drive on.  Over time though,
this problem has become more pronounced as my van goes through a perennial
period of high idling (2000-3000), starting at the beginning of winter and
ending with warmer weather in spring.  During this winter engine racing, it
also seems like my gas mileage goes down from around 20 MPG to 15-17. This
may be due to the increased fuel usage at stops, but my intuition is that
there is something else here at play.  Also, the idle usually settles down
to around 1,200 to 1,500 RPM's after the van has had time to thoroughly warm
up -- although not always.  During the warm months, the idle is much lower,
although it never goes below 1200 RPM at any point in the year.  Finally,
after replacing the heads and a steering rack, I am ready to solve this
problem once and for all.

Per the advice of others on this serve and Bentley, I have checked the Idle
Control Stabilizer Valve (ABV), cleaned it several times, but nothing seems
to change.  I have also checked the resistance of the temp sensor, but it to
my dismay it was well within tolerances -- that would have been an easy
thing to fix.  A local mechanic told me that it was definitely the Idle
Stabilizer Valve, but, when the van is racing, and I unplug this device the
idle immediately drops down to normal, thus ruling out being "stuck"
mechanically open. Also, when the van is racing, I can get it to stop and
idle more normally by pinching off the air hose that leads to the Idle
Control Stabilizer Valve for a couple of seconds.  As long as I do nothing,
the she idles fine.  However, as soon as I touch the accelerator the van is
once again off to the races until it reaches operating temperature, but even
then it never idles normally.  Right now, I am running with the ABV
unplugged.

I also removed the idle stabilizer control module from behind the passenger
side tail light.  Upon opening it up, I could see no visual burns as others
in this group have noted, although it did smell oddly electrical in that
cooked-board sort of way.  However, I don't know if this really means
anything, as that little bi-folded board has been stuck in that small casing
for the last 15 years.  I'd smell too if I were in there all that time.

Anyway, my feeling is that this problem is electrical and not mechanical in
nature, but I don't know where to go from this point.  I am hoping that I've
described some classic symptoms that someone else can immediately diagnose.
I just know one of you out there knows exactly what I'm up against.  Look
forward to hearing from you...

Gratefully,

Brad Barcom

1987 Vanagon GL
1986 Toyota Truck