Date:         Wed, 22 Nov 1995 17:22:59 -0500 (EST)
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         Jay.Goldberg@ska.com (Jay Goldberg)
Subject:      Wouldn't start... mea culpa!

Hi, all

I recall seeing a number of posts recently about busses not starting.
Lots of suggestions on how to fix the problem.  I ran into a similar
situation over the last couple of weeks with my '77 Westy (I only
drive my bus on weekends, and not nearly enough at that):

Week 1 - I turn the ignition, and it takes a few seconds before the
         starter engages, and then the engine starts right up.

Week 2 - The generator, EGR, and oil lights are all on, when the
         key is in the starter position, the lights dim and nothing
         else happens, not even a click.

Week 3 - Not even the dummy lights come on.  Dead as... well, something
         dead, I guess.


So on Week 3, I dragged out the battery charger, and put a few hours of
juice into the battery.  Samiam (oh yeah - that's the Westy's name)
started up like a champ.  

I had installed a nice Sony CD player, and as far as I can tell, the 
clock/memory circuit that it has is the only thing in the bus that
regularly draws power even when the engine is off.  Looks like the
combination of the cold NJ weather and the not driving enough took their
toll on the battery.

I think it's time to go for a couple of DieHard or Interstates, and
restore the old 2-battery setup that the PO or PPO had removed from the
bus.

I thought this story might be worth sharing, so maybe a jumpstart can
fix your problem before you start mucking about with adding and replacing
solenoids...

	TTFN
		Jay

-- 
Jay Goldberg   IT5 UNIX Support  212.238.2678     \/     axion consulting svcs
Credit Suisse       Group        jay@ska.com     \/\/    jay@intac.com