Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 05:55:37 -0400
Reply-To: David Gunning <davidgunning@PIVOT.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: David Gunning <davidgunning@PIVOT.NET>
Subject: Re: 1.9L Hiccup Remedy?
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You mean one of those expensive 6" extention cords that plugs into the Air Flow Meter? Did not realize they were specifically designed for the 2.1L, but in any event I have one of those, already. No, not sure what the "vanagon syndrome" is exactly, but the symptom of this "hiccup" is that it's very much like a backfire. Sometimes there is even a puff of black smoke that pops from the exhaust when It happens. Makes me feel kinda like the "Lone Ranger" where when they used to say at the end of the show:"with his trusted companion Tonto, his horse Trigger, and with a cloud of smoke, Up, Up and awaaaay, The Lone Ranger Rides, Again!"
I suspect it is a momentary grounding short curcuit of the primary electric caused by the jolt of the bump. I have noticed, at previous times, that the inside of the distributor cap has been obviously zapped by high voltage, and that when the distrutor cap is replaced with a new distributor cap the problem is eliminated, for the time being. Must have something to do with the high voltage requirement of the fuel injector negatively impacting the operating system electrical capacity by a sudden big bump.
Maybe it's the distributor worn somewhere and that that gets jostled and momentarily shorts out, causing a backfire. Of course, the same symptom could maybe be caused by the ignition system momentarily shorting-out, for some unknown reason.
I will say one thing for sure, there is never a dull moment when dealing with the bucking bronco mentality of a VW vanagon motor.
And I can't never seem to find a silver bullet when I really need one!
Dave
davidgunning@pivot.net
----- Original Message -----
From: JordanVw@aol.com
To: davidgunning@PIVOT.NET ; vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Sent: Tuesday, May 23, 2006 2:42 AM
Subject: Re: 1.9L Hiccup Remedy?
i dont know if this is a coincodence or what, but i used one of those "vanagon syndrome" AFM harness connectors (designed for a 2.1L) on my 1.9L and havent had that problem since...
chris
In a message dated 5/22/06 5:47:11 AM Eastern Daylight Time, davidgunning@PIVOT.NET writes:
Used to be that one of my vanagon's deepest, darkest secrets was the occasional need to "hiccup" (cough, cough) while tooling along down the road, minding it's own business. It usually happens when going over a big bump in the road, a dreaded Maine leftover winter frostheave or springtime bottomless-pit-all-consuming pothole. The usual treatment, which seems to work, is to change the sparkplugs, which eliminates the problem until the next time it happens.
Recently spied a reference to someone else citing the "dreaded vanagon hiccup" on an internet web site, which suggests to me that this may be more a common problem than I initially realized.
Wonder if there are any other vanagon drivers willing to come out of the closet concerning this issue?
And, more significantly, what might be done (cough, cough) to eliminate the problem.
Dave
davigunning@pivot.net