Date: Mon, 17 Mar 2014 14:46:11 -0700
Reply-To: Bill Kasper <dragonlist@UBS.UCSC.EDU>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Bill Kasper <dragonlist@UBS.UCSC.EDU>
Subject: Re: Help. traveling with problem
In-Reply-To: <53276C6A.60903@comcast.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
this oughta be a stickie. well mooted, ken.
bill
felton, ca
On Mar 17, 2014, at 2:43 PM, Ken Wilford <kenwilfy@COMCAST.NET> wrote:
> 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.
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