Date:         Mon, 27 May 2002 19:25:13 -0500
Reply-To:     Marshall <mjruskin@SHAW.CA>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Marshall <mjruskin@SHAW.CA>
Subject:      TOTALLY RESOLVED: Big problem with engine not running - please
              help now!
Content-type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1

Hi Volks:

Please ignore the previous message - I took one last stab at it - and I
fixed it.

What did I do, and why didn't I do it before?

What I did:

I sprayed contact cleaner on the wiper surface, the commutator of the wiper
(key step), sprayed the connectors and unkinked a wire inside the afm
itself.

Why didn't I do this before:

Normally, you clean the afm when you see bucking or bad afm performance. In
this case - the afm was "da-id".
So, I didn't think it was a dirt problem - I though there was a connectivity
problem.

I think there are two possible places where there was bad connectivity:

1.    At the central point in the afm wiper - there's a commutator there -
and I purposefully manipulated that as I was cleaning;
2.    Possibly really a cracked wire inside the afm - I straightened one
wire cruuning from the circuit board up - I may have restored connectivity
to a broken wire.

But I'm not really sure!

Thanks to anyone and everybody who wrote with suggestions.

Marshall Ruskin

----- Original Message -----
From: "Marshall" <mjruskin@shaw.ca>
To: <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
Sent: Monday, May 27, 2002 06:59 PM
Subject: Big problem with engine not running - please help now!


> Hi Volks:
>
> My engine won't run for but a few seconds and roughly at that.
>
> Using the digitool, I see that the AFM is not producing a control voltage.
No change in the AFM voltage output as I vary the throttle.
>
> I pressed the connector on tightly - no joy.
>
> I  removed the connector and cleaned the connector contacts on the AFM
side with sandpaper. No joy.
>
> My first thought is that there is a break in the harness or some loss of
connectivity somewhere, but - I'm not sure.
>
> Any ideas anyone?
>
> Background:
>
> Yesterday the van worked fine, with the rear heater core removed and hoses
plugged. Today, I replaced the heater unit, and reconnected the power
connector to it. I can't see how this affected anything, but it's the right
thing to mention this.
>
> Currently, the connector to the rear heater core circuit is ON. It made no
difference when it was off, either.
>
> Marshall Ruskin
> 84 Westy