Date: Mon, 1 Dec 2014 14:35:27 -1000
Reply-To: "SDF ( aka ;jim lahey' - Scott )" <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: "SDF ( aka ;jim lahey' - Scott )" <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Organization: Cosmic Reminders
Subject: Re: Won't Start in St. Helena, Napa County
In-Reply-To: <547CF489.7050907@sbw.org>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
It's not hard to check for spark out of the coil...
was there any ?
(sorry if I didn't follow each part of the thread )
if there's spark there ....ignition is not why it's not starting.
here's what I'd do ..
super, super simple on a water boxer,
lacking a NOID light ..
I'd remove ONE SCREW ( very clever, and cheap, of VW to secure the
injectors this way ) ..
remove that one 10mm head screw so you can hang both injectors on one
side out of the engine ..
so you can watch them spray.
this test is in the Bentley manual ..which you should have on board
always ..
even for shops to use if needed.
the test is in there.
if they're not spraying ..you're onto what's up.
also ..
always be careful about this ..
you can have a car that say ..it's cold ..it gets flooded ..
say the spark plug gaps are huge and the plugs should have been replaced
long ago ..
you can do all sorts of stuff..
and have everything working right ..but it won't start do to
fouled/flooded spark plugs.
I've seen it a million times.
Was even one spark plug examined ?
I suspect not, hope I'm wrong about that.
'trying parts' is one of the least effective way to diagnose a problem.
( even shops do that ! ..some )
it's really a very simple EFI system too.
usually it doesn't take long at all to identify the basic issue in a 'no
start' ..
much easier than something like say uneven running or lousy fuel milage.
just find out quickly..
if there is ign ..
and if injectors are spraying fuel.
doubt you have this one...pretty rare,
I just did though ..
water in the fuel.
it can be maddening because it can be very intermittant .
I had 'loss of power' intermittantly ..
get home..
it won't start.
I check all kinds of things..try to other ecu ...etc.....
I dribble in some fresh gas ..fires right up ..
I run it a while.
I drive 60 feet, shut down to load some stuff..
45 min later just will not start ..even with the gas trick.
the first qt. of 'gas' I pumped out of the tank was 90 % water.
a crumbled piece of newspaper soaked in it wouldn't even light with a match.
the first gallon pumped out was 3/4ths water.
I'm wondering if the top of the tank has holes rusted in it.
This is in a very rainy area...
not a vanagon ..but entirely a similar system .
Especially in winter..
always always ...remove fuel filter, empty it out backwards to see
what's in it ..
like into a clean jar ..look for water, dirt, rust particles and tiny
shiny metal particles.
especially if you let the fuel/water mixture sit..the water separates
out to the bottom very clearly.
On 12/1/2014 1:06 PM, Steve Williams wrote:
> I replaced the coil, rotor, and the wire from the coil to the
> distributor. Still no start.
>
> I got a new distributor cap, but I didn't replace the cap, because I
> didn't want to take the time to replace the spark plug wires right now,
> and the new cap is the no-pins type, whereas the old cap has pins. The
> wire from the coil appears to work fine with the pin, but I wasn't
> certain the old wires work with the no-pin cap.
>
> The new coil measured 3.9K ohms.
>
> Verified the wire from the coil sparks when placed near the engine block.
>
> AAA had it towed to a shop here in town. I'll let you know what they
> find out.
>
> On 11/30/2014 4:25 PM, Dennis Haynes wrote:
>> For the replacement coil it has to be the correct one, no universal
>> stuff.
>
> It's a Bosch. Same part number as on GoWesty's web site, for what it's
> worth.
>
>> You will get some sticker shock.
>
> It wasn't bad. The NAPA auto parts store down in Napa (heh) charged me
> only a little more than GoWesty's price. Of course, it was a 30-mile
> round trip to pick them up.
>
