Date:         Thu, 2 Jan 2003 21:50:07 -0500
Reply-To:     Milo's Kitchen <sagmoore@ZOOMINTERNET.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Milo's Kitchen <sagmoore@ZOOMINTERNET.NET>
Subject:      Hesitation and Hall senders (long post)
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

Sorry folks, this was an enquiry to William Greenamyer re the Hall sender in
distributor fixing his hesitation problem, I am asking the list as well. I
have had this vehicle 8 years and this problem is about 6 months old. Very
intermittent.
        Misery loves company. I have an 87 syncro that is slowly driving me nuts. I
have so far (and with verifiable reason) replaced O2 sensors, the AFM due to
the spring tension wheel being adrift and binding the sensor flap, and the
fuel pressure regulator vacuum hose, cap, rotor, Bosch spark plugs and
wires. Checked and cleaned idle stabilizer, pulled cover off stabilizer
control and no burned or funky components. Checked the Temp Sensor II hot
and cold, checked throttle position switch closed and full, cleaned the
pants off of every ground (#19 too). The van can and will go for a day or
two with no problems, or perversely the whole trip will be a nightmare. It
always does the same thing now when it does it; (the above component changes
did make a lot of difference), and I can see it coming.
         Today I drove it to work, a total of 43 miles one way in winter weather
(@34 degrees). From my home to work, the first thirty or so miles is
interstate, so engine is at @3400 RPM and runs OK. After getting into slower
traffic (i.e. idle conditions or coast down), on coast down the van will
jerk some (like on/off) but not severely and then idle at 1200 RPM (normal
is @950), this is when I know I'm in trouble. At this point if I add gas,
the engine tries to die and no power. If it does die, it will either crank
at high speed like it would like to start and eventually does or start
instantly and go. Coming home tonight in slow city traffic I fought it by
keeping idle at 2500 to 3000 RPM (wince) and feathering the clutch (I have a
new wear face now!).
        Coming down the highway about 10 miles from home the LH front inner CV
joint begins to make the death noise (quite unexpectedly) and I dive for the
RH berm. I call my wife to call for the flatbed (the tow truck driver and I
are great old friends, no kidding!) and sit on the side of the road ruing
the day, idling at 1200 RPM, with the heater on, about 5:28 PM. I play with
the throttle and find that if I advance it very sloowley, the RPM will come
up. If I try to advance it like I would to let out the clutch, it tries to
die. Okay, sit there. At 5:36 PM, like someone threw a switch, the idle
drops to 950. Ha! says I, a momentary aberration, surely it will go back up.
And indeed it did a few times hunting up and down, it finally settling down
to 950 RPM. OK, bad throttle switch? (I've checked it many times, zero ohms
on the R x 1 scale).
        I can rev the engine easily, no hesitation, anywhere I want to put it, and
always idles right back down to 950 again. It was still that way at 6:06 PM
when the flatbed showed up. So, this sounds like me, does this sound like
you, or what other symptoms did you have? Sorry for the long post, but
inquiring minds need to know.
Thanks,
Dave Milo