Date:         Wed, 31 Jul 1996 07:26:26 -0700
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         tjparker@pacificnet.net (Tim Parker)
Subject:      Re: Was EV slap, Now electricals, HELP!

Cetin:

Your suggestion of using a clock, rather than a voltmeter, strikes me as a
great idea.  I will have to look for one to do that.  It will allow me to
find the intermittent open circuit if it happens while I'm not at the car,
which the voltmeter wouldn't let me do.  Sometimes I go for weeks without
the resetting ocurring (which means it might just take that long to find
the problem, anyway.  But it beats endless guessing).

-Tim.

At 8:29 AM 7/30/96, Cetin Seren wrote:
> Sorry to hear you're having so much trouble.   It seems that the dealer
> is fixing the symptoms but not really fixing the cause.
>
> >From what you're experiencing, the obvious cause is a bad electrical
> connection.  I think it is an intermittent open circuit rather than a
> short, since you have not blown any fuses (look for scorched wires around
> the engine also to solidify this assumption, a short could cause scorched
> wires).
>
>
> The clock resetting is a very indicative symptom, and the (insert your
>favorite
> word that describes your dealer here) dealer mechanic is either a complete
> incompetent fool, or he knows what kind of stuff he is into, so he is choosing
> to dazzle you with BS rather than spending the time to diagnose the problem.
> One path to choose might be to write to VW of A stating that their electrical
> system is a safety hazard (ABS), and that they will be responsible if any
> harm is caused by the failures again.  Another path is to see what _you_ can
> do about it.  A third may be to do both.
>
> First thing to do:
> Ask the dealer how to disengage ABS, see if it is possible.   Obviously
> the ABS is also getting confused by the intermittent on/off electrical
> power.  I do not have ABS, so I cannot help you about whether it is possible
> or not.  If possible, disengage ABS, the EV brakes just fine without ABS,
> and keep it that way until this problem is solved.
>
>
> Now to the diagnostics:
> You're looking for a bad connection, that causes problems. The clock resetting
> is quite basic -- the clock is attached to the battery at all times.  If it is
> resetting, it is doing so either because some electrical connection somewhere
> is loose, or there is a short somewhere.  Since you do not mention any blown
> fuses, let us assume that short is a lesser possibility.
>
> First rule of diagnostics:  see how lucky you are.  Have someone sit
> in the driver's seat, watch the clock. With the engine turned off,
> jiggle every connection you find.  If the clock resets, you lucked out
> (maybe, there may actually be more than one bad connection).
>
> The rest of the diagnostics is a little bit more involved, so if you are
> electronically challenged, get help.  One method is to buy a 12V car clock,
> the kind that attaches to the car battery.  Most clocks these days have their
> own batteries, so finding one of these may be a problem.  Ground the ground
> wire, get a _very_ long wire for the positive.  Find a way to pass the
>wire from
> the passenger compartment to the engine compartment.  First, start by
>attaching
> this wire to the positive battery terminal.  Set the clock, drive around.
> If the clock resets, you have a _big_ short somewhere in this system.  If not,
> move the positive wire from the new clock downstream in the electrical system,
> in stages.  A good second spot could be the Alternator output terminal.  You
> have
> to make sure your wire does not get close pulleys, moving parts, etc...
>In this
> fashion, you can eventually get the new clock to reset also, which will
>tell you
> that the problem is between where the wire is currently attached and where
> it was
> attached before.  My suspicion is that you will not have to go very far;
>clock
> resetting is indicative that there is a problem way upstream in the
> elctrical system.
> Also, if your dash clock resets and the new clock does not, it is time to
> re-attach
> the wire one step down the electrical system, so you do not have to keep
>driving
> forever at one stage.
>
> Good luck, let us know what happens...
> Cetin