Vanagon EuroVan
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Date:         Mon, 17 Mar 2014 17:43:06 -0400
Reply-To:     Ken Wilford <kenwilfy@COMCAST.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Ken Wilford <kenwilfy@COMCAST.NET>
Subject:      Re: Help. traveling with problem
Comments: To: Kk Al <kkalnsf@GMAIL.COM>
In-Reply-To:  <CABFHYsvF8SDhWwd1byLa-w5qAgPnb8Wb1bypdu2rqAeGL6u-Uw@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed

As you are driving and the van is messing up, turn the ignition off and then turn it back on (you don't have to engage the starter the engine will automatically restart). Does the van run better for a minute then start messing up again? If so it is a problem with the oxygen sensor or the oxygen sensor circuit. Unplug the oxygen sensor and try driving with it unplugged. The plug is located near the engine coil in the engine compartment. Trace the wiring from the oxygen sensor which is screwed into the catalytic converter and you will find the plug. The engine harness side is a thick green wire. Unplug this and try to drive. If this fixes the problem you can drive the rest of your trip with this unplugged and it won't hurt anything, you will just not get as good of MPG as if you had a good oxygen sensor. When you get back home install a new oxygen sensor and you are good to go.

If you unplug the sensor and the van is still messing up then it is a problem with the oxygen sensor wiring from the plug to the ECU itself or the ground for the oxygen sensor wire.

Look at the wiring that is going to the Ignition Distributor. You will see a plug that is on the side of the distributor with wiring coming from it. Trace that back about 6 inches and you will see a brown ground wire coming out of the harness. This should ground on the cylinder head on the driver's side. If you look straight down behind the AC compressor with a flash light you will usually see it attached there. Inspect this connection. It needs to be in good condition. If it looks sketchy replace the end. Also there should be a ground strap going from the driver's side head to the firewall just below the coil. That needs to be there and in good condition. If it is really corroded looking or just broken you can get a new one at your local NAPA store.

If the ground wiring is good then the problem is with the oxygen sensor wiring itself between the end and the ECU plug. You can repair the wiring when you get home, however if you are away on the trip, you can do a quick fix which is to cut the wire at the ECU plug itself. Unplug the ECU and you will see the plug is held together with a tie wrap at the wire bundle and a small phillips head screw on the back of the plug. Cut the tie wrap and remove the phillips head screw. Now you can pull the plug apart to get to the back side of the plug where the wiring is. You will see that the plug has numbers on the back side of it. For the 2.1l Vanagon the wire you are looking for is green in color and is in location number 2. Leave about two inches of this wire and cut it. Now put some electrical tape over the end of the wire and put the ECU plug back together. The van will run great all the time although you will experience a little less MPG. You should be able to drive it as normal for the rest of your trip and then when you get back home you can run a new shielded wire from the ECU plug to the oxygen sensor plug and be back to normal.

I have been running into this problem as these vans age the wiring harness is degrading. The wiring to the oxygen sensor is coaxial and degrades so that the signal to the ECU, even with the sensor unplugged, can be screwy and cause the van to run extremely rich.

Let me know if this helps you out.

On 3/17/2014 5:02 PM, Kk Al wrote: > Hello all > We are in the middle of our vacation traveling in our 87 Synco. The van has > been running very well untill all of a sudden it started missing on the > freeway. We pulled over and did a visual inspection. Everything looks ok. I > pulled the plugs and found theky are all fouled. > Once we started bwck up everything worked for a few minutes and the missing > started again. > We have noticed the problem goes away if we keep the accelorator on the > floor . If also goes away for a few seconds if we let off the accelorator > and reapply > The problem arises when we how the accelorator steady. > > Any help is appreciated. I'll be checking email frequenly >

-- Thanks, Ken Wilford John 3:16 www.vanagain.com Phone: 856-327-4936 Fax: 856-327-2242


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