Date: Sun, 21 May 2017 08:44:27 -0400
Reply-To: kenneth wilford <kenwilfy@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: kenneth wilford <kenwilfy@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Intermittent Power Loss - '91 Westy
In-Reply-To: <1046842214356510961@unknownmsgid>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8"
If it is the oxygen sensor wiring there is an easy way to tell for sure.
When the van is running poorly, turn the ignition off and then back on
again. If you are driving down the road, you do not need to engage the
starter, the van will instantly restart. Does the van run better for 30
seconds before running poorly again? If yes then 100% it is related to the
oxygen sensor wiring. The computer looks at all of the sensors immediately
when you start the van except for the oxygen sensor which is on a time
delay.
If it is not the oxygen sensor wiring then ECU is the first suspect with
hall sender in distributor being second. If they have never been replaced,
I would preemptively replace them both as it is time.
Of course we sell both of these items at vanagain.com. ECU is $250 and
hall sender is $149. Let me know what you find out.
Ken Wilford at vanagain.com
On May 20, 2017 1:48 PM, "Wes Neuenschwander" <
wes.neuenschwander@comcast.net> wrote:
> While preparing our 'trusty' '91 Westy for a trip to the remote (and
> supremely lovely) Okanogan region of Eastern Washington, I experienced a
> sudden loss of power, with the rpm's dropping from 3,000 to around 800,
> even
> with the throttle depressed. Still on my local Seattle neighborhood
> streets, I pulled over and after a minute or so was able to nurse the
> engine
> back up to 3,000 rpm, restoring power and driving back home. Took it
> directly to my regular (and every excellent) local VW shop, Fine Tuning in
> N. Seattle, without any power loss or other problems. The car repeated
> the
> power loss during a test drive, this time losing power completely and
> engine
> dying. The owner, Chris, was able to restart the engine after a couple of
> minutes and got it back to the shop, where they went over the obvious
> stuff,
> not finding anything. Next day, they started the vehicle and left it
> idling
> for an hour or so, without problems. Subsequent test drives also went
> without problems.
>
>
>
> On Chris' suggestion we disconnected the O2 sensor and I've been driving
> it,
> mainly on short, local drives now for several days without incident.
>
>
>
> Haven't encountered anything similar in the 26 years we've owned the van
> (bought it new in '91), though have barely driven it for the last couple of
> years (like 700 miles over 2 years!) with the van sitting in the garage,
> idle, for the last several months or so.
>
>
>
> In addition to the O2 sensor / sensor wiring possibility, Chris has also
> suggested it could also be a faulty ECU. The ECU is original, and I know
> these tend to have solder joint corrosion problems over time. I'm not sure
> how old the O2 sensor might be, though it's probably not original (but I
> suspect it's pretty old). Ditto, I guess to a degree, various other
> sensors, as well as sensor wiring. Ignition components, including spark
> plug wiring, distributor, etc. have been fairly recently been replaced.
>
>
>
> The engine is a GoWesty 2.2L engine, installed nearly 10 years/25,000 miles
> ago, and aside from the recent loss of power problems, has run beautifully
> since it was installed.
>
>
>
> I've done a lot of searching of the Vanagon List archives for information
> about similar loss of power problems, so realize the O2 sensor and ECU
> issues are commonly involved in such situations, but would be most grateful
> for any/all ideas or suggestions for other things to check. At this point
> I'm more than willing to invest in a replacement O2 sensor and even (if it
> seems indicated) a rebuilt ECU. However until something is found that
> reasonably explains these random power loss events I'm very reluctant to
> drive the van very far and certainly not into remote areas.
>
>
>
> Many thanks (as always)!
>
>
>
> -Wes
>
> ___________________
>
> Wes Neuenschwander
>
> wes.neuenschwander@comcast.net
>
> C. 206.498.8787
>
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