Date:         Tue, 12 Mar 1996 14:44:41 -0600 (MDT)
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         Jack Reed <jackr@fortnet.org>
Subject:      Re: please help -- starting problem

On Tue, 12 Mar 1996, Crazed Idiot wrote:

> a red wire comes from in front (front is front) of the fuse box and into

Find out whether this wire is hot all the time or just when the key is 
turned to start.  It should be live all the time.  Here's a quick and 
dirty ascii of the layout:

                                Battery
                                  (+)
                                   |
              Ignition wire--------+--------Ground 
               from switch         |
	                  Starter Solenoid

The "+" is the relay.  The current from the ignition switch trips the 
relay and dumps Battery potential to the solenoid.  Bob Hoover would have 
you go through all the connections from the switch to the solenoid and 
clean them up, and I agree with him, but for those who don't have the 
time or inclination, this works.

You'll need to get a DVM and check voltages.  You can check the relay by 
applying voltage to the appropriate input, with the opposite terminal 
grounded, and see if the relay "locks".  It should show 0 ohms on the 
output legs, or close to it.   If not then it's fried.  <$5 at a 
junkyard, <$15 at a FLAPS.

I'd check the "nether regions" wire first and see if shorting it to 12V+ 
actually gets the starter to turn over.  In addition, you do know that 
you can short the solenoid terminals with a screwdriver in a pinch, yes?

Jack