Date: Tue, 29 Jun 2010 14:15:08 -0700
Reply-To: Scott Daniel - Turbovans <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Scott Daniel - Turbovans <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Subject: Re: Quick troubleshooting question
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reply-type=original
my thinking would go to two areas initially ..
one is about fuel pressure, fuel delivery, fuel filter/s etc.
and you have one symtom there already ....buzzing fuel pump ...
so this route seems very warranted.
the other pathway I would investigate if fuel pressure and delivery doesn't
clear things up ...
is spark plugs failing to fire properly under load ..
wether due to weak/tired coil, spark plugs wires, plugs themselves,
whathaveyou.
I consider coils to be nebulous ..they get weak..
and spark plug wires ..
I have seen them be repsonsible for all kinds of weirdness.
some of my low tech tricks on testing for plad plug wires are ..
with engine warm and running, spray down the plug wires with a fine spray of
water ..any stumbling means leaking.
2. observe the engine run in total darkeness...if you see tiny sparks
running around ....yup. you got it. bad plug wires.
and the usual ..timing, timing curve etc.
I see it like this ....there are two 'fires' that need to happen correctly
..
one is the right amount of fuel and air needs to get into the combustion
chamber ..
too little or too much are both wrong, obviously.
then...that fuel air mixture needs to get lit off properly by the spark plug
...
so weak/wrong fuel/air mixture won't ignite properly ..
and/or ...weak spark can't fire it properly.
they work against each other, and both need to be right.
Scott
www.turbovans.com
it could be all kinds of things of course on a waterboxer ....poor grounds,
whatever.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Aaron" <a.robinson.lists@GMAIL.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Tuesday, June 29, 2010 12:46 PM
Subject: Quick troubleshooting question
>I am about to dive into troubleshooting a problem with my '87 westy. It =
> seems that after giving it more than 1/4 throttle while under load in =
> any gear, I lose all power. If I let off the gas pedal, it comes back to =
> life. However, I can rev it freely when it's in neutral, so it seems to =
> be associated with load. It also does this whether warm or cold. I'm not =
> sure where to start, but I figured I would start with the buzzing fuel =
> pump and go from there. It seems if it were a fueling issue, it would be =
> more of a sputter, not a sudden cut-out like it is.=20
>
> It seems like there are so many routes one could take. What would you =
> do?
>
> Thanks!
> Aaron
> '87 Westy
