Date:         Wed, 1 Jun 2011 05:09:34 -0700
Reply-To:     mark drillock <mdrillock@COX.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         mark drillock <mdrillock@COX.NET>
Subject:      Re: Strange pattern of tach and motor dying(long)
Comments: To: Max Wellhouse <dimwittedmoose@CFU.NET>
In-Reply-To:  <4de5e1c1.029b2a0a.4fa8.165d@mx.google.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed

There is a wire on the 86-91 fuse box that gradually burns out. This
wire is the only one that connects the key switch to the engine
compartment to power on the ignition and injection systems. The symptom
of the tach dropping is one of the indicators of this increasingly
common problem. It is pin D15 on the back of the fuse/relay panel. There
is a black wire coming from this pin. The pin gets visibly burned where
it touches the mating pin. Remove the D connector block and have a close
look with good light and good eyes at both the male and female pins for
D15. It may be your problem.

Bentley page 97.68 has the pin locations on the back of the 86-91 panel.

Mark



Max Wellhouse wrote:
> Folks:  I have experienced a strange but semi predictable pattern of
> engine mis-behaving twice now in the last two weeks and it's time to
> find Mr. Wizzard ....I do have that funky Haltec ECU system on the
> motor, so that could be giving me trouble and I have to use a Bosch
> ignitior wired in the system; it came fro ma junkyard like 10 years
> ago off an old Rabbit or Sirrocco........
>  the tach dies along with the motor,and 2
> sec. later it returns to life. About 20 miles out of town it repeats
> that same behavior(2 seconds dead and back to life). About a half an
> hour later in the middle of nowhere on Hwy 218 at 1AM, it totally
> dies. Three attempts to start it this time failed,so I took a
> nap. This second round of orneriness was NOT caused by rain or
> moisture. At 20 minutes it wouldn't start so I went back in the hatch
> and milled around wiggling wires etc. The grounds by the coil didn't
> look corroded, so I was thinking maybe the coil(which wasn't THAT
> old) or the Bosch ignitor might be the culprit, but not sure how to
> test them. My Hall sender is maybe 4 or 5 years old too and the
> plastic connector doesn't have any cracks in it. Regardless, it
> started up again at the 30 minute mark and hasn't acted up since.
> .............................
>