Date: Thu, 19 Aug 2004 01:40:04 -0400
Reply-To: Stephen Steele <steeles@HORIZONVIEW.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Stephen Steele <steeles@HORIZONVIEW.NET>
Subject: Re: whistling engines again (was RE: GET BACK ON TOPIC!)
In-Reply-To: <E1BxdN3-0001hL-00@smtp01.mrf.mail.rcn.net>
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Joy wrote:
> I talked to this same repair person... - about my now-intermittent
> low-power-at-high-speed problems. Naturally it started up again, precluding
> a trip to visit my sister, and then stopped again by the time I got it to
> Mr. Hoffman. He said there wasn't much point looking at it when it wasn't
> acting up. But - is a whistling fuel pump likely to also be the cause of my
> intermittent power loss? Wouldn't it be nice if I only had one thing wrong,
> not two...
Yes, possibly. At higher demand the fuel pump may exhibit more signs and
symptoms of failure. The pump is easy to get to and to change out, why not
try it and if it doesn't get rid of the whistling and power problem you can
keep the old pump as a back up. Short of any evidence as to recent changing
of the fuel filter, I would change that too.
> Mr. Hoffman said last time he saw an intermittent power problem at high
> speeds he put in what he called a "wiring harness adaptor to the air flow
> box" and that solved the problem. Has anyone seen this solution? Of course
> I don't know if that's where my problem lies - it's certainly at the other
> end of the vehicle from the whistling pump.
Actually, the two are fairly closely related, as they both deal with proper
fuel flow and air mixture prior to the intake manifolds. Your logic is
sound.
Now don't jump back and run away from these strange scribblings but...
Generally, I believe that Paul's recommended fix is for the vaunted Vanagon
syndrome, which more often occurs at start up or slow speeds OR as "bucking"
at higher speeds. Does your problem clear up temporarily if you turn off
the key and turn it back on while experiencing the lack of power? If so...
this is The FIX.
The tantalum capacitor fix to the air flow modulator(AFM) has been explained
a time or three on the List. The capacitor massages an uneven, minute,
electrical signal at various speeds and causes an evening out of the airflow
volume into the intake manifold. This makes for more smooth acceleration and
deceleration... possibly eliminating the lack of power that you are
experiencing.
A search in the archives will reveal several sites that explain it better
than I can. VW put out the wiring harness (expensive part that IIRCC is no
longer available, plugs in...2-3 minutes labor) as a sanctioned fix. Some
resourceful Listees figured out how to take the AFM apart and fix it for
less than $5 and an hour well spent with a box knife, the correct capacitor
from Radio Shack, a small soldering iron and a tube of silicon caulk to
reseal the AFM.
I, successfully, did this fix to my 87 Westy last year and then had an
opportunity to later discover that the PO of my 91 Caravelle had paid to
have the plug in unit put in in it before I bought it... $BIG and I could
have taken it off to test it on my 87 before I did the repair myself. Which
gets me to my next advice... you might find someone with the plug in and
borrow it to see if it clears up your problem. If it does, you can then
decide if you want to have it fixed by Paul or try to find someone on the
List who is nearby and can effect the capacitor fix for you.
> Thanks to everyone who has answered my questions so far, and for the past
> six months, by the way! I'm sure even six months into this I still sound
> like a mechanical moron - but hey, I am. No deception here! I'll admit
> that this evening I was wondering if I should continue my travels in my
> little 2002 Toyota Prius that has nothing wrong with it and never breaks
> down, and give up on Matilda. I was even trying to figure out how I could
> get maximum stuff into a rather small car. But I'm not going to give up on
> vanagons yet. At least I don't think I am.
I would like to see the kayak AND the bike strapped on that Prius and I
won't even go into the karma and soul issues between the two.
Good luck....
HTH.
--
Stephen
Chillicothe OH
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