Date: Fri, 17 Apr 2009 13:50:40 -0400
Reply-To: Chris S <szpejankowski@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Chris S <szpejankowski@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Help! '87 Westy won't start...
In-Reply-To: <c2c43a7e0904170856t70be11d0m79930b8d4949fe9b@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
Look through the right, passenger side, rear wheel opening. The
starter is on the top right side of the trans bellhousing.
On 4/17/09, Marc Perdue <mcperdue@gmail.com> wrote:
> Thank you all for the good tips. I could have tried all this stuff
> last night, were it not dark and if my multimeter was in the van,
> where it usually lives, but it was and it wasn't, so, oh well . . .
>
> Now, it's stupid question time: Keep in mind that I'm at work and
> don't have my Bentley handy, please. I have never actually had the
> opportunity to find out where the starter is on a Vanagon. It seems
> odd, I know, as much as I've worked on it, but where IS the starter?
> I looked around for it a little last night in the dark, but, for
> obvious reasons, couldn't see it . . .
>
> Thanks again,
> Marc
>
> On Fri, Apr 17, 2009 at 11:28 AM, Rocket J Squirrel
> <camping.elliott@gmail.com> wrote:
>> As Ken says, the place the start is to find out whether you're getting
>> power
>> to the starter solenoid. This divides the problem into a. it's a funky
>> starter, or b. the stuff between the solenoid and the battery has a
>> problem.
>> --
>> Mike "Rocket J Squirrel" Elliott
>> 84 Westfalia: Mellow Yellow ("The Electrical Banana")
>> 74 Utility Trailer. Ladybug Trailer, Inc., San Juan Capistrano
>> Bend, OR
>> KG6RCR
>>
>>
>>
>> On 4/17/2009 7:18 AM Marc Perdue wrote:
>>
>>> Hi all,
>>>
>>> I'm constantly amazed at how many ways my van can leave me stranded,
>>> in spite of all I do to try to keep it in top shape.
>>>
>>> I got in my van to leave my daughters' house last night, and when I
>>> turned the key, the fuel pump came on, but there was no click for the
>>> starter. This has actually happened on occasion before. When it has,
>>> I usually moved the shifter out of Park and back. If that didn't do
>>> it, trying another time or two always would.
>>>
>>> So, I'm thinking that there's a starter relay somewhere, but when it
>>> happened, it was 10 PM, my tools were in my other car, and my Bentley
>>> was on the kitchen counter back home, where I had been researching
>>> what I need to look at for the rough running problem that I had been
>>> having. Incidentally, it's running WAY smoother since I had the shop
>>> adjust the valve last to 0, cold, according to Bob Donalds' specs.
>>> And it hasn't been stalling.
>>>
>>> Asides aside, I pulled the cover off the gear selector (auto tranny,
>>> in case you hadn't gotten that yet) and cleaned the switch. In case
>>> anybody out there didn't realize it, the shifter needs to be either in
>>> Neutral or Park to start, and there's a switch in the gear selector
>>> enclosure. You can pry off the top cover of the enclosure to get to
>>> it. Cleaning the contacts didn't change my results. Thinking maybe
>>> the Park contact only was affected, I tried starting in Neutral to no
>>> avail.
>>>
>>> At this point, not knowing whether there was a starter relay or
>>> whether I could do anything about it if I found it, I had to seek out
>>> a ride home.
>>>
>>> Am I on the right track? Does this sound like a bad starter relay to
>>> you all? Oh, and before you all suggest I go start chasing ground
>>> connection gremlins, the shop that was trying to fix my van checked,
>>> cleaned, and in some cases put new connectors on, ALL of my ground
>>> connections that they could find. :^) Um, come to think of it, they
>>> wouldn't have cleaned the contacts on the gear selector switch . . .
>>>
>>> If this does sound like a bad starter relay, does anyone have a part
>>> number for it? I'd like to get my van back up and running sooner than
>>> later...
>>>
>>> Thanks all,
>>> Marc
>>>
>>
>
--
Sent from my mobile device
Chris S.
Disclaimer: "Death and serious injury may occur"
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