Date: Sun, 6 Feb 2011 12:48:07 -0500
Reply-To: Jonathan Poole <jfpoolio@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Jonathan Poole <jfpoolio@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: cranky when wet
In-Reply-To: <BLU0-SMTP1445DC4E60A456EB152724CA6E90@phx.gbl>
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Thanks for the replies Karl, Dug and Larry,
Your responses were consistent in pointing to the ignition system so I
checked, cleaned and adjusted the components of that system yesterday.
Fortunately it was still raining and the problem was still present,
unfortunately I saw no improvement. Since many of the components have a 3
or 4 years (and the coil 28!) on them I went ahead and ordered:
new coil
new plug/coil wires
new rotor
new distributor cap
new pertronix electronic ignition
and while I was at it a new ground strap and the starter relay kit from bus
depot just in case I have a low voltage issue that is somehow related.
I plan to add in all of these components and also clean up/grease any
grounds/connections that I can get my hands on. Hopefully this approach
will solve this issue. If not, I'll at least have eliminated a number of
sources of the problem.
Jonathan Poole
83 AC Westy
On Sat, Feb 5, 2011 at 12:53 AM, Karl Wolz <wolzphoto@q.com> wrote:
> Clean the plug wire dizzy ends to bright metal. Same with connections on
> dizzy cap (¼” drill with steel wool wrapped around it works well). Coat
> liberally with dielectric gel. Reassemble. Report back.
>
>
>
> Karl Wolz
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> *From:* Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] *On Behalf
> Of *Jonathan Poole
> *Sent:* Friday, February 04, 2011 10:32 PM
> *To:* vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> *Subject:* cranky when wet
>
>
>
> Howdy List,
>
> I've got an 83 air cooled vanagon that runs great but occasionally starts
> roughly when wet. If it sits for a while in heavy rain it is slow to start
> and sort of mis-fires or misses when it first cranks then it stumbles and
> as
> it hits higher rpms (1500 and up) it clears it's throat so to speak and
> then
> runs normally/great.
>
> In the past week the van has been sitting and the last day or two have seen
> a lot of rain, at times heavy. Tonight I went out to start the van and it
> would turn over fine but not hit at all. I smelled a bit of gas when I
> went
> back to open the engine lid and also tried to start it with fuel turned off
> and the throttle open for a while to see if it was flooded. I can do this
> because I have a fuel shut-off under the dash for security and
> high-altitude
> cold starting. In any case, turning the fuel off didn't make any
> difference
> and the van was still not hitting and only spinning rapidly over at any
> throttle and with fuel off and on. I did notice the tach needle jumping a
> small bit. I then checked for power at the coil which was good, and I
> checked the opening/closing of the ignition points with an ohm meter while
> hand-turning the engine which looked fine. I also checked for fuel
> pressure
> by opening the bleeder in between 3 and 4 and it looked like there was
> pressure/fuel. After that I inspected the harness and noticed that the
> section running to the jetronic box is getting pretty wet under the air
> cleaner. I relocated it to above the canister vent lines to get it up a
> bit
> but wasn't able to do much there. After playing around with the harness
> etc. though when I went to try it again it started to hit a bit. After
> lots
> of trying (try for 10 seconds or so then wait a few minutes for close to
> ten
> minutes) it finally started and soon after was running great. Good thing I
> have a newish battery, starter etc.
>
> Also, even though I think that the van was getting plenty of fuel I wasn't
> able to confirm it since I don't have a remote start hooked up and was
> doing
> this troubleshooting alone. I also don't really know if it was getting
> spark or not.
>
> The van has never done more than start roughly when wet so this was the
> first time it has done this exactly. I'm guessing that the way the van was
> parked or the amount of rain were just right for it to either not have
> spark
> or less likely enough fuel. What I don't know is how to fix the problem.
> Have any of you dealt with symptoms like this? Is it an ignition component
> problem, a wiring harness problem, the ecu, other? It was annoying when
> the
> van occasionally started rough but now that I know it can prevent starting
> at all I intend to get to the bottom of the issue and fix it somehow. Any
> suggestions or similar experiences appreciated.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Jonathan Poole
> '83 AC Westy
> ------------------------------
>
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