Vanagon EuroVan
Previous messageNext messagePrevious in topicNext in topicPrevious by same authorNext by same authorPrevious page (September 2003, week 5)Back to main VANAGON pageJoin or leave VANAGON (or change settings)ReplyPost a new messageSearchProportional fontNon-proportional font
Date:         Mon, 29 Sep 2003 12:20:48 -0700
Reply-To:     Harald Rust <harald_nancy_vw@YAHOO.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Harald Rust <harald_nancy_vw@YAHOO.COM>
Subject:      Re: The "Other" Vanagon Syndrome, Part II
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

Someone was asking about the fuel tank strainer. Taking off the fuel filter made it apparent that there was no restriction in the fuel tank or enroute to the fuel pump. About the enigmatic Afm: Many folks seem to think the bucking was caused by the Afm. Symptoms were the same. I agree with that, and during the trip, when the bucking started, I was kicking myself for not having taken the spare afm along. Logic was if the afm goes bad, I could always open the plastic cover, move over the resistor board, clean it up with denatured alcohol and q-tip, close it up with silicone or duct tape, and it should get one back home. I've worked on afms at home, and take my word for it, I know when they're bad. Here's a picture of my afm with the cap fix: http://www.geocities.com/harald_nancy/intermitt._syndrome.htm Afm is a pretty primitive piece of equipment, and not much mystery there. Hooking up the digitool, as I mentioned, shows you instantly if the afm is working properly. On the lcd volt meter on the digitool, you can observe the voltage signal that the afm sends to the ecu as you drive. Comparing those numbers with notes and numbers from other known working afms shows you whether the afm is ok or defective. There should be no wild fluctuations, and the voltage signal changes gradually, as the engine sucks in more or less air. Anyway in a nutshell, the afm checked out fine. Also that afm only has about 45,000 miles on it. It still boils down to the fact that every time I would add detergent to the fuel tank, the vanagon would run significantly better. Finally adding a heavy dose of Techron made the bucking totally disappear after some driving. It could be a coincidence, of course, but it happened several times, and the pattern became evident. At home, we always get cheapest Safeway gas, and I don't know if it has any injector cleaners in it. I doubt it, and maybe finally the injectors clogged up. Some people say their vanagons run better on premium gas. The waterboxer, being low compression, doesn't need premium, but it probably does like the detergent additives in premium gas. Maybe that's the reason some vanagons run better on premium and certain brands of gas. Researching the various designs of fuel injectors indicates that vanagons have the old-type needle fuel injectors, which are prone to sticking, either closed or open. Newer cars use a different design, which are less likely to clog up. Harald '90 westfalia

__________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? The New Yahoo! Shopping - with improved product search http://shopping.yahoo.com


Back to: Top of message | Previous page | Main VANAGON page

Please note - During the past 17 years of operation, several gigabytes of Vanagon mail messages have been archived. Searching the entire collection will take up to five minutes to complete. Please be patient!


Return to the archives @ gerry.vanagon.com


The vanagon mailing list archives are copyright (c) 1994-2011, and may not be reproduced without the express written permission of the list administrators. Posting messages to this mailing list grants a license to the mailing list administrators to reproduce the message in a compilation, either printed or electronic. All compilations will be not-for-profit, with any excess proceeds going to the Vanagon mailing list.

Any profits from list compilations go exclusively towards the management and operation of the Vanagon mailing list and vanagon mailing list web site.