Date:         Fri, 07 Apr 95 15:28:50 CDT
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         Joel Walker <JWALKER@ua1vm.ua.edu>
Subject:      Re: White "corrosion" in distributor cap

On Fri, 7 Apr 95 15:19:02 CDT <POLLISMJ@ccit.arizona.edu> said:
>I have a 1982 Westy. There comes a time (about a month or so) when the
>engine loses power... I get into first or second gear, try to pick
>up speed and it does, until about halfway up the power curve, and
>then the power goes into a nose-dive. It's annoying. I checked what I
>could and have found that I think what causes the lack of power is that
>some white deposits (carbon?) accumulate on the metal contacts in the
>distributor cap. It kinda cakes onto the contacts and I have to scrub
>them off and sandpaper the contacts. Then the engine performance
>gets back to how it should be.
>What causes these deposits to get there? What can I do to avoid getting
>these deposits to accumulate there?

white deposits?? mine were always blackish. at any rate, IF it's the
simple arcing that normally occurs, it's happening way too often ... mine
usually lasts about 25,000 miles before i need to replace the rotor and cap.

>(I've changed the rotor/cap and it still gets these deposits. I've
>sealed all the vacuum hoses; I've put Split Fire plugs [works good, too];
>I use 92 octane gasoline; I've changed the spark plug wires/coil wire)

well, the only thing left is the coil ... my 80 bus used to kill coils
(i think because of the heat) ... i don't think you can totally avoid the
deposits, it's a function of the electric arcing that makes the distributor
work. but it shouldn't do that every month.

any chance you are getting a non-vw rotor and cap?? if so, the after-market
tolerances might be a bit off, causing too much of a gap between the parts.
also see if the little metal contacts inside the cap and on the rotor are
pitted in any way. if not, you may have some sort of weird atmospheric
(i.e., pollution) problem. <well, i don't know!! it could happen!>

are you in a really dry climate? that might account for the deposits being
"white". (since the deposits are blackish down here in the humid south)

goodluck.
joel