Date:         Sun, 30 Oct 2011 13:23:16 -0400
Reply-To:     TJ Hemrick <x53gunner@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         TJ Hemrick <x53gunner@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      No start/no spark
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

All,
  Is there an easy way (e.g. side of the road/limited tools) to check if
the Hall Effect Generator is working or not.  Here's the situation; I felt
some minor hesitation the other night but only from standstill till it got
moving.  Immediately, I suspected my latest POS Advance/Discount auto parts
fuel pump (even though the first pump was 4 months old and failed and the
current replacement is 3 weeks old, I'm ordering a new BOSCH from our
trusted vendors first thing Monday).  Well, we got to the next light and
the van stopped running.  No restart.  Ran to the back and shot some
starting fluid in.  No change.  Right then and there, I thought, this is
NOT the fuel pump (well, not completely).  If it didn't start on starting
fluid, I'm not getting any spark.  Got it home (2 miles courtesy of AAA)
and tore into it today.  I got a weak and intermittent spark from the coil
wire grounded to the transmission bolt.  I pulled a plug and did the same.
 No spark.  I cleaned all the contacts in the cap and tip of the rotor.
 Still, no spark.  I suspected the coil or ECU.  Just out of habit, I
pulled the grounds under the coil and cleaned them (they looked good).  Is
there any way to do a field check on the Hall Effect Generator or coil.
 I'll end up bumming a ride from the neighbor to the shop to get some
spares but trying to do it the right way.

TJ
87 GL Auto