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Date:         Thu, 6 Nov 2003 15:23:44 -0500
Reply-To:     "Higginbotham, David A." <dhigginbotham@HAZENANDSAWYER.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         "Higginbotham, David A." <dhigginbotham@HAZENANDSAWYER.COM>
Subject:      Re: 82 now cranks but stil won't start when hot.
Comments: To: Tom Young <tomyoung1@comcast.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Fuel/air mixture, this sounds very much like the problem. If this were a carbureted vehicle I would thing it was flooded. When I feather the accelerator pedal or push it to the floor it will often start when hot, not always but often. I have just received a Haynes manual and will look for troubleshooting tips in it tonight, especially concerning cold start devices. Fuel/air mixture sounds very plausible. I may be in over my head with this one. If so I need to get the brakes fixed before I can drive it to a shop. I will most likely start asking stuck brake questions next but I will read some in the manuals first so I can at least formulate an intelligent question, assuming I understand what I read ;) Thanks again to all, this list is without question one of the best communities out there. David Higginbotham 82 Westfalia Silk Hope, NC

-----Original Message----- From: Tom Young [mailto:tomyoung1@comcast.net] Sent: Thursday, November 06, 2003 9:52 AM To: Higginbotham, David A.; vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM Subject: Re: 82 now cranks but stil won't start when hot.

David:

The "not starting when hot" problem very frequently is an indication that the engine is receiving a too-rich mixture. The engine can tolerate that when it's cold, but not when it's hot. So, the first thing I would do is test the fuel/air mixture when the engine is completely warmed up.

DIY's can see if the fuel/air mixture is off by taking a reading using a voltmeter and the O2 sensor, but you really should stop the engine, disconnect the O2 sensor from the wiring harness, plug the voltmeter into the O2 sensor and then restart the engine. But you can't do that because the engine won't start when hot! Your best bet here is to arrange for a shop to test the mixture with an exhaust gas analyzer (be sure they use the port in front of the catalytic converter); if you can swing into the shop with the engine warmed up and they can use the probe on your still-running engine, that will tell you if the basic mixture is too-rich.

--------------------------------------------------------------- Tom Young '81 Vanagon Lafayette, CA 94549 '82 Westfalia --------------------------------------------------------------- ----- Original Message ----- From: "Higginbotham, David A." <dhigginbotham@HAZENANDSAWYER.COM> To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM> Sent: Thursday, November 06, 2003 4:30 AM Subject: 82 now cranks but stil won't start when hot.

I started this adventure in getting our van road worthy again by trying to fix a problem with the van not starting when it is hot. I received suggestions that I replace the cylinder head temperature sensor, those following this thread may remember my screw up in replacing the oil temp sender instead. I did eventually get the right parts in the right places and when I tried to crank her up to test it, well, that's right, the starter died. So.... now I have the van cranking but the problem is still there with not starting when it's hot. Has anyone had a similar experience? There are several good shops in my general area that I can take it to if I have to. But I am learning a lot and having some fun at the same time. Does anyone have any suggestions on where/how I might continue troubleshooting this problem?


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