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Date:         Mon, 4 Aug 2008 10:12:35 -0700
Reply-To:     Mike Elliott <camping.elliott@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Mike Elliott <camping.elliott@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      What a difference an ECU made
Comments: To: BJ Feddish <bfeddish@NETREACH.NET>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed

...seventy-two little hours.

Those who have been following my quest to fix the poor idle and flat spot when accelerating that have been plaguing my 84 1.9L will know that the shop tried this and that to fix the problem, then plugged in their one good working ECU and the problems vanished. With my ECU they found the engine went very lean when the engine was circling the drain.

So working on the theory that the ECU was the problem, I asked them to tune the engine with their working ECU, and pop in my suspect ECU so I could limp home then find a good one.

(As an aside, I see that they removed the blanking plate as shown on Bentley 24.30 to access the CO adjustment screw on the AFM, I reckon they did that during the process.)

One ECU was kindly loaned to me by Bryan Feddish, it arrived on Saturday but things intervened so I could not install it. A second one turned up in a 84 that had been newly-delivered to an Ecology wrecking yard near San Diego.

With the old ECU, after the engine had been on for about a minute, it started to slow and hiccup a bit, the mixture went a little lean, the engine started to miss more, the mixture went leaner, and the engine eventually died. The O2 monitor showed little activity during this process.

This morning the suspect ECU was swapped out with the wrecking yard one, the engine started strongly, and after about a minute, the engine started to slow, with a hiccup or two, then the mixture went richer, and the engine returned to a strong, smooth idle.

Took the van for a drive and it was strong, it didn't want to die when idling at a light, and it showed no sign of any flat spot. While driving, the O2 readout was peppier. As a test I installed Bryan's loaner, with the same excellent results. Then I put in the old one, and the funky behavior returned. It wanted to die, and the flat spot was so severe that the van didn't even want to pull out of the driveway.

The problem she seems to have been fixed! Thanks all for supplying additional troubleshooting ideas.

Bryan: request permission to haul your ECU along with me on the drive to Bend as a backup?

--

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


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