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Date:         Mon, 14 Feb 2011 21:37:47 -0500
Reply-To:     Jonathan Poole <jfpoolio@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Jonathan Poole <jfpoolio@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Wet starting problem update
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

Howdy list,

Recently my van wouldn't start when wet. After a few days of rain the van would turn over but not start. When I checked, spark was present from the coil wire but was a bit weak. All suggestions pointed to the plug wires. I ordered replacement parts for much of my ignition system and then experimented by installing the new parts in phases. It looks like the two biggest contributers to the problem were the plug wires and the spark plugs. After replacing the wires, distributor cap and rotor the van ran better (idle jumped up a bit, started more quickly than usual etc.) then after cleaning and regapping the plugs it ran better still. The old plug gap had opened up just beyond specs and I also cleaned the porcelain on the spark plug. On cleaning the outside of the plug I figure that if residue in the distributor cap can cause misfiring then it can on the individual spark plugs too and maybe even more easily.

After these changes the problem seems to be solved and the van ran a lot better. I then replaced the points with a pertronix kit and replaced the original coil (which now goes into the spares cupboard). These changes didn't make a noticeable difference but at least I won't have to set the points and reset the timing regularly like I used to.

Beyond resolving the wet starting issue and making the van run noticeably better two other changes occurred that I didn't expect.

First the van had developed a real growl when accelerating at high rpms. I figured my muffler was starting to open up or something like that. This was very noticeable if I pushed the van above 3500 rpm in 3rd gear but now it doesn't get any louder at all running up to 4k. I sort of miss the sound but now that it is gone I'm guessing that it was being caused by the larger plug gaps/bad wires/worn cap and rotor since this type of ignition system puts out less spark as rpms increase. I think I was getting the same problem up around 3500 and higher rpms that I was getting when it was wet out.

Second, since I have had this van/engine it has had a tendency to buck and jerk when cruising around at low rpm. Like the times when I slow down but leave it in a high gear and the engine is turning something like 1k or a bit higher rpms. I had assumed this was being caused by the afm but today I couldn't get this to happen no matter what I tried. It has been a constant (if minor) annoyance always forcing me to upshift even when I'm pretty much coasting along. I'm not sure if this is the result of the ignition system changes since I also cleaned all of the electrical connections/sockets in the engine compartment that I could find and also cleaned up any ground that I could see in there. For this I used an electrical cleaner spray and a brass brush then followed up with dialectric grease.

I was only trying to solve the wet starting problem but it was nice to fix these other items as well and I look forward to doing some driving soon.

I've got a few more starting/cranking upgrades to apply and then I'll be tempted to visit Canada before Spring just to do some cold starting. Maybe I should head to the desert to get some hot starts in after that. I'm pretty excited at the prospect of avoiding the walk out to my van on some rainy night just to find it won't start and also avoiding pulling over some hot summer day to find myself stuck with a non-starting hot van!

Thanks again for the suggestions and help,

Jonathan Poole


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