Date: Mon, 22 Oct 2007 06:50:28 -0400
Reply-To: Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@HOTMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@HOTMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: 1.9L Gutless when first started
In-Reply-To: <471B698B.4090403@gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"
Might be related to your coolant problem. Water in a cylinder!
Compression and leak down test.
Could also be one or more bad injectors or some other reason for running
lean when cold?
Dennis
-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
Michael Elliott
Sent: Sunday, October 21, 2007 11:00 AM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: 1.9L Gutless when first started
I need some ideas where to look. (1.9L, auto transmission)
Symptom: when engine is first started it doesn't have any power and won't
rev easily. By "first started" I mean this will happen the first time the
van has been started that day, or even if it has been driven until warmed
up, left to sit in a parking lot for 15 minutes, then started again.
Pressure on the gas pedal when in Park or Neutral will cause the engine to
rev, sort of, but it's not very enthusiastic about it, "pulses" VROommmm m
m m mmVROOmmm m m m. Ken Lewis O2 monitor sits pretty steady in center of
range during this brief time (new O2 sensor, too, O2 fluctuates properly
when ECU closes loop). Pressing on pedal will cause rpms to go up, but
grudgingly. There might be a soft cough or two (backfires?).
After 30 seconds or so, the engine "wakes up" and revs properly.
If I don't wait until it has woken up before driving the engine simply
will not rev at all when in gear. Feathering, pressing, wiggling gas pedal
do nothing. Van may creep at 1mph for a few seconds, cough, then it will
wake up. It generally runs a little "rough" for the first few seconds
after waking up but it has power.
The "waking up" of the engine is not coincident with the ECU going
closed-loop by the way. It will wake up well before the bouncing ball on
the O2 monitor indicates closed-loop operation, which occurs about a
minute or two after the engine has been running. Before going closed loop
the monitor drifts kind of lazily around the middle range. This appears to
be normal.
After the engine has awoken and smoothed out, there is no problem
whatsoever for the remainder of the trip. O2 sensor bounces in a lively
fashion. It has "fixed itself," until it gets turned off for a few
minutes.
I envision it this way: I step on pedal, throttle moves off idle switch
(tested) and AFM should tell ECU that fuel is wanted. Near as I can tell,
no fuel is being delivered. Or timing isn't advancing, though it was
tested (centrifugal and vacuum) a couple weeks ago after this behavior
first surfaced. O2 sensor sits in middle of range, neither rich nor lean.
Should rich up, yes?
Things I have checked (O2, idle, timing advances and retard) are already
listed on my "poor mileage" page at
http://camping.elliott.googlepages.com/poormileage so I won't list them
here.
Fuel pump? Funky AFM? What am I missing? Brains for driving such a cranky
old vehicle (75,000 original miles, California wear and tear, meaning
looks pretty like new in engine compartment).
--
Mike "Rocket J Squirrel" Elliott
71 Type 2: the Wonderbus
84 Westfalia: Mellow Yellow ("The Electrical Banana")
74 Utility Trailer. Ladybug Trailer, Inc., San Juan Capistrano
KG6RCR