Date:         Mon, 3 May 2004 09:56:48 -0700
Reply-To:     James V <tornadored@EARTHLINK.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         James V <tornadored@EARTHLINK.NET>
Subject:      Re: Hesitation, Running Rich, Stalling
In-Reply-To:  <BCADC002.D679%tornadored@earthlink.net>
Content-type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"

Thanks, all, for the helpful suggestions regarding my van.  I apologize for
not replying sooner... But, I had no time before leaving for my trip.

Recap from 4/22: My 90 Carat was stumbling, running rich and eventually
stalled.  Took it to a mechanic who couldn't find anything wrong and asked
to keep it overnight to see if he could figure out anything more.  I Planned
to leave that next day for a 10 day camping trip.

Well, the mechanic wasn't able to figure it out.  After initially sputtering
and spewing black smoke for him, the van ran perfectly and everything
checked out - 02 sensor, fuel pressure, temp sensor, all connections.  In
the end, he suggested that it could be the ECU.

So I took the van back that morning, 4/23.  By luck, my mom was going to be
out of town during our trip, not using her '91 GL.  So I pulled the ECU from
her van and took it along as a backup (didn't install it).

Well, we're back from the trip (Yosemite was great), and for all 800 miles
the van ran perfectly.  Never had to touch my ECU.  The stumbling that had
been a worsening problem for the last few weeks completely disappeared.  No
black smoke.

So, I'm thinking that one of 2 things happened:

1. Mechanic said all connections were good, but he still
unplugged/cleaned/reconnected/tightened those points.  So, maybe, as some
have suggested, there was a bad ground connection that was fixed. (in which
case, best $30 bucks I've spent in a while!)

2. I installed the new AFM after the van died, w/ no effect.  But, at some
point after the mechanic took possession, it began running well (new AFM
still installed).  So, does the ECU need to "adjust" to the new AFM?  I was
also thinking that maybe my old AFM was bad, and that the new AFM perhaps
fixed it, but it took some time for the FI to adjust the mixture....?

I guess the sure way to know is to put the old AFM back in... But the van is
running so well right now I hate to go futz w/ stuff.

Anyway,  thanks again.

James V
90 Carat


On 4/22/04 18:31, "James V" <tornadored@EARTHLINK.NET> wrote:

> 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