Date: Sun, 27 Mar 2011 18:59:22 -0600
Reply-To: Alfred Bagdan <abagdan@SHAW.CA>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Alfred Bagdan <abagdan@SHAW.CA>
Subject: Re: engine dying while driving
In-Reply-To: <0f3a01cbeccb$d876c650$6401a8c0@PROSPERITY>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
I had a similar problem a long time ago. I did the syndrome fix, new gas
filter, etc... It turned out it was the Temp2 sensor, an easy fix. The van
also wouldn't start or barely when hot, it was flooding. It seems it was
getting too much fuel in 4th gear, to keep going I had to shift down to 3rd.
You may try that.
Alfred
85 Westy
-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
Scott Daniel - Turbovans
Sent: Sunday, March 27, 2011 4:11 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: engine dying while driving
Does it have an anti-Vanagon Syndrome harness on the Air Flow Meter ??
pertty mandatory to have one of those on there in my world.
I don't exactly comppletely believe in VSS ..
but ..
I just had a problem with the same engine ...2.1 wbsr and manual trans ..
I'd pull out to go on my local main business street....stall and loose
power..
funnny, never did that in all the time it was a yard runner ..
try to go out into the street ...stall, stumbe, barely keep running.
Come back, drive around the comound of buildings..no problem,
go to into the street..stall, stumble ....
did that four times.
there's no anti-VSS harness on it.
I put one I had on ..
end of problem.
and ..no mention of fuel filter or fuel pump in your post ..a
and it coudl as easily be an intermittantly clogged fuel pick in the fuel
tank.
I run them with a fuel pressure gague on them ..
to deterine when stalling/stumbling is due to a fuel supply or pressure
problem .
and ...you really can not actually tell from the driver's seat ..
if it's fuel injection quiting ..
or igntion quitting ..
or fuel ..
or even intermittantly clogged cat or muffler..
it's most like one or more of those four 'pathways' ...
or even intermittant sealing of the main air boot at the throttle body .
extremely unlikely ..
but when engine movement or throttle position seems to affect running ..
you look for something like that ..
so that's 5 pathways that could be blocked or leaking , and intermittant.
to say 'it's an electrical problem .
a very pat answer or comment.
yes ..
it is ..littearallly ..'a blockage or leakage of fluids or electrons' ..
litterally, or numerous ones ..
also ...people might think 'fluids' means liquids like fuel or oil..
gaseous things are also fluidsd ..so it includes air, vaccuum, anhd exhaust
.
I never ever say 'uh ..it wouldn't do it for me. Sorry ...goodbye.'
If it won't do it for me ..
there has never been a vanagon I couldn't find several things not quite
right about ..
and I could offer ...'can't tell for sure this one thing is it ..but it's
not right..if it was my van, I'd fix that ..and even it didn't fix it, it
would advance things , and we'd know more.'
or offer to do longer term testing ..
how about this one..
you suspect it's intermittant igntion ( btw ..does it have a tach ..if it's
a fuel probem say ..
tach will continue reading rpm while it's loosing power and rpm . If it's
ignition ..usually the tach will go to zero when power is lost ) ..
you rig up a timing light in the back of the van so it flashes, triggered by
a spark plug wire ..
so you watch it flash in the inside rear view mirror ..
if you looose power ..but there are still steady ignition-triggered flashes
..it's not the igntion that's cutting out.
stuff like that ...takes more dedication and cleveriness. than you'll often
be able to find. .
but those things can be tested for and found..
even if .say ..I have to run the van off another fuel tank in the back seat
..to prove conclusively that it's the fuel tank that's the issue ....
tell them you have a blockage or leakage of fluids or electrons..or more
than on ..that you need found and corrected in the van. lol. I hope it
gets fixed.
I suggest saying year, model, and transmission early in the post. Sharp
diagnostic minds will want to know that right off the bat. Untill it's
stated whether it's a Digijet 1.9 or a Digifant 2.1 ..or a diesel ..
diagnostic minded people can't think about what mgitht be going on as
well...........or I sure can't.
scott
www.turbovans.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "Joy Hecht" <jhecht@ALUM.MIT.EDU>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Sunday, March 27, 2011 11:20 AM
Subject: engine dying while driving
> Hi folks,
>
> Got a vanagon question! No halogen lights, no list-language discussions,
> all vanagon.
>
> My engine has an intermittent problem. It dies while driving. This has
> been going on for a long time (since last fall). I'm driving along,
> usually
> (but not always) at fairly slow speed, in suburban or urban driving, and
> it
> just loses power and then dies. Sometimes it loses power and if I give it
> more gas, it bucks and coughs (choose your metaphor) - then sometimes it
> dies, and other times it feels like something catches in the cough and it
> starts going normally again. Feels very weird.
>
> This seems to happen more predictably when I'm going up a hill, or have to
> shift in urban driving. I find myself giving it more gas than I usually
> would, and sometimes revving it too high without shifting, in order to
> prevent it from dying. I'm afraid to go up really steep hills (MANY of
> them
> in St. John's) because I'm sure it will die, and I'll not be able to start
> it up again, and then I'll be in a mess, having to back down the hill
> coasting or something. (This happened once. Not good.)
>
> When it dies, I put flashers on, stop, turn the engine off, turn it back
> on,
> and almost always it starts up and behaves properly. Canadians are
> extremely polite, but I imagine the people behind me do NOT appreciate
> this.
>
> One time it did this at high speed, on the Trans-Canada. Not good. It
> wouldn't start up again - well, it did, but then died promptly again. I
> pulled over, called a tow truck, waited around ten minutes. Then started
> it
> and it worked fine. I ended up canceling the tow truck, and didn't have
> any
> more problems for the next 400 or so miles till I got home.
>
> I've taken it to two mechanics. Before heading back to Newfoundland in
> February, I took it to my mechanic in NJ. He said "sounds like an
> electrical problem." He searched all over, and drove it around, but it
> didn't act up when he was driving it, and he said he couldn't figure out
> the
> problem unless he saw it happen. Incidentally, this same mechanic
> replaced
> my alternator in October, and I drove a fair bit (up to Westies at Watkins
> and back, maybe 600 miles) after that with no problems at all. So
> presumably it's not the alternator.
>
> So reluctantly I headed back to Newfoundland (long drive, cold weather,
> not
> nice to take risks with uppity van when Propex heater still doesn't work
> despite Karl M's repairing it last fall). I got as far as those 400 miles
> from St. John's, that's when it died on the Trans-Canada. After it
> started
> up again, I drove into Corner Brook, which wasn't far, and took it to a
> mechanic who someone had told me was the best one around for electrical
> work. They said that it sounded electrical, but if they didn't see it
> happen, they couldn't fix it. He said something electrical is getting hot
> and then cutting out. When I stop it cools down, and then it works okay
> again. If this were the case, though, why would I have been able to drive
> from New Jersey to Newfoundland, all highway driving, without it happening
> once? And why does it more reliably happen when driving around town,
> often
> when I've just started and the engine is cold?
>
> So anyway, I came back to St. John's, got here fine. Now I only drive to
> do
> errands around town that I can't do on foot. Pretty much every time I
> drive, it cuts out at least once, then starts up again and seems okay. It
> seems to happen often when going slowly - pulling out of a parking space,
> starting up at a traffic light, parallel parking.
>
> My neighbor (not a car mechanic) said he thinks it's a clutch problem,
> because I told him it happens more when I have to shift.
>
> What do you all think? BTW, Matilda (my van) is an '89 with a manual
> transmission.
>
> I'm planning to take her to my mechanic here (who specializes in old VWs),
> but I'm almost waiting until I'm sure she'll act up when he drives it,
> since
> I suppose he'll also say that if he doesn't see it happen, he can't figure
> out what's wrong. So I figured I'd ask for your opinions.
>
> What do you think?
>
>
>
>
>
> Joy
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