Date: Fri, 23 Apr 2004 09:19:25 -0400
Reply-To: John Scheckel <jscheckel@NUTLEY.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: John Scheckel <jscheckel@NUTLEY.COM>
Subject: Re: Hesitation, Running Rich, Stalling
I had a similar problem with my van. it would run great until it warmed up
and then it would stall, hesitate, etc. it turned out that two of the new
spark plug wires were bad. I replaced the wires and the problem went away.
check your wires, even though they are new. you can pull each wire and check
them with an ohm meter for continuity. they should all read very close to
the same value, although the longer ones will show more resistance that the
shorter ones. As an alternative you can let the engine idle while the
problem is evident and pull off spark plug wires one at a time. as a wire is
pulled the idle will get rough if that plug is getting a spark. if you pull
a wire and there is no change in the way it is running then you have found
the culprit (bad wire or perhaps a bad plug). use wire pullers if you use
the engine running method.
good luck
john
----- Original Message -----
From: "James V" <tornadored@EARTHLINK.NET>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Thursday, April 22, 2004 9:31 PM
Subject: Hesitation, Running Rich, Stalling
> Well, we were supposed to leave tomorrow morning for an 11 day camping
trip
> w/ my 90 carat, but now this...
>
> The van has had random minor hesitation/stumbling recently. It started
out
> being very occasional - most noticeable when accelerating. It would
> otherwise cruise fine (occasional hiccups); power was good; gas mileage
> normal; started/idled fine; air temp didn't seem to be a factor. But in
the
> past few days the problem has rapidly worsened, requiring gentle throttle
to
> keep it from bogging when accelerating.
>
> [Back in Nov 02 (16k mi ago) I replaced the 02 sensor, spark plugs, wires,
> FI temp sensor. Ran good. Fuel filter replaced 25k mi ago.]
>
> Yesterday I opened up the AFM, cleaned/realigned wiper, added capacitor
fix.
>
> This morning after 10 min on the freeway, the car began stumbling hard and
> losing power and died when I came to a stop. Took several tries before it
> started up again and I managed to get to a parking lot. It died again and
> wouldn't start. I tried disconnecting the 02 sensor without luck.
>
> An hour or so later, the van started again, but was idling very rough and
> running rich - coughing black smoke. Since I had a spare (new) AFM, I put
> that in, with no effect.
>
> So I had it towed to a mechanic where I left it. He started it up and it
> was sputtering and belching out the black smoke. He said he tested the
fuel
> pressure, temp sensor, O2 sensor, checked connections... All okay.
Started
> it up again and it ran perfectly. He's going to keep it until the morning
> and see if he can find out anymore.
>
> In the meantime, any suggestions/ideas would be appreciated. The mechanic
> is leaving at noon on vacation as well... So if he can't figure it out,
I'm
> on my own - at least until Monday when I can take it somewhere else... And
> I'd hate to shorten/delay/cancel this much needed vacation.
>
> Thanks,
>
> James V
> 90 Carat
>
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