Date: Wed, 1 Jun 2011 10:25:39 -0400
Reply-To: B Feddish <uprightbassghost@HOTMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: B Feddish <uprightbassghost@HOTMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Power loss after traffic jam
In-Reply-To: <BANLkTikqgyOowo4W1vrGBkBwp_-kko_bdg@mail.gmail.com>
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Mike S. was helping me with this by trying to pinpoint things that can fail
due to heat. One of the things he suggested was disconnecting the idle
stabilizer. I needed to replicate sitting in 90 degree shore traffic for an
hour so I just drove my van home from work on Route 30 last evening and
after about an hour it started bucking so hard it was un-drivable. I
pulled over and disconnected the idle stabilizer from the circuit and the
van ran fine. Actually felt like a little more power. To me this does not
yet prove it was the problem but I put in a spare unit and will try again on
the way home today.
I have a spare everything and next I will swap out the ECU if it happens
again .
Thanks,B
Bryan
-----Original Message-----
From: Joy Hecht
Sent: Tuesday, May 31, 2011 9:03 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: Power loss after traffic jam
Sounds like what my van does regularly. Well, not regularly enough to be
predictable and therefore identifiable... It does it when I'm driving
slowly in the city, having to shift gears, often when going up steep hills.
(Many steep hills here.) Hesitates, sputters. then catches and gets back to
normal. Occasionally it doesn't catch & get back to normal - the engine
dies. Then I turn it off and start it again and it's okay.
Many mechanics have told me it's electrical, but could be one of many
different things and unless they experience it, they can't identify and fix
it.
I've driven for days with no problems, especially on the highway. Then it
will start again.
Very annoying. Though actually I'm getting used to it.
Joy
On Mon, May 30, 2011 at 3:39 PM, B Feddish
<uprightbassghost@hotmail.com>wrote:
> After sitting in traffic for a 3 mile jaunt that took 1.25 hours coming
> back
> from Cape May, NJ today the van did some kind of hesitation. It was right
> after traffic started moving again the van did this thing a few times
> where
> it felt like the motor was completely cutting out. It did this a few times
> then was back to normal the rest of the white knuckle ride home. It was
> about 85 degrees outside, BTW. I have an '83.5 WC. It's never done this
> before and hasn't done it again since the traffic jam. I drove for 2.5
> more
> hours home after that with no problems.
>
> Thoughts? Everything looks fine in the engine compartment.
>
> Bryan
>