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Date:         01 Jul 96 19:00:05 EDT
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         "Linda J. Bartnik" <76065.3075@CompuServe.COM>
Subject:      trip report

Hello all, Well, this weekend I journeyed from my home (Johnson City, TN) to my girlfriend's home (Chester, VA, outside of Richmond). It is about a six hour drive, all on interstate, 81 north and 64 east, then 95 south to Chester.

I left Friday after work and made it to Bristol, about 1/2 hour from here, when I got stuck in REALLY BAD traffic on 81. Turns out that a tractor trailer rammed into the back of a minivan which was stopped for construction, crushing the van into a five-foot long mass of metal. I saw the picture in the paper, and you would not believe that it is a survivable accident. The van in question is (was) a Mazda MPV, which you couldn't tell by looking at it. There were two people in the minivan, one died and one lived and was airlifted away. They closed both northbound lanes of the interstate and routed traffic thru a local exit. I was stuck in this non-moving traffic for about an hour and a half before I heard (on the cb!) that they re-opened 81, so I turned around and got back on the road.

The rest of the trip north passed without incident, stopped for gas near Roanoke (cheap gas station on exit 150A) and made it to my girlfriend's house at about 1:30 that night, next morning.

On Saturday we got up and headed out to Kings Dominion, a great theme park in Ashland VA, about 20 minutes from Chester. Went out to fire up the bus, and no start. Uh-oh. Same problem as before I replaced the starter, turn the key, dash lights dim but nothing happens out back. Well, her driveway is sloped so we pop the clutch and we're off. Get to KD, have a great time (especially on the new ride, Outer Limits Flight of Fear). It's a roller coaster, but it's indoor. However, the method of picking up speed is different. Rather than using a chain to pull it up a long hill and then going down the hill, this thing uses a catapult. Yes, like the kind aircraft carriers use to launch airplanes. When we first got into the station and we saw that roller coaster LAUNCH, my jaw dropped and I said something smart like holy sh*t! From a dead stop to a super-fast blur only takes this baby a couple of seconds. It's incredible watching it leave the station. It's even more incredible when your in the very front seat! I'm used to driving a bus, so all this acceleration was overwhelming :) . It was a very intense roller coaster and I loved every second of it. There's not much time when you're not upside down on that one. Wow! You have to see it to imagine how fast it launches.

Anyway, coming out of KD I noticed my bus leaning back and to the right, and then saw that my right rear tire was flat. Hmmmmm. Well, jacked it up and put on the spare. Bus started fine and we headed back, stopping to get gas and put some air in the spare.

Next day (Sunday) we had to find a place where I could get my tire plugged, as I didn't want to drive back 400 miles with no spare. Went to Wal-Mart and they did it for $6.50. I switched tires back again and was ready to leave Wal-Mart when --- no start! What the hell???! Popped the clutch again and got it going. Drove about 15-20 minutes back to Chester, stopped at East Coast for gas, and no start again!! Popped clutch again, A-OK. Went back to her house, packed up my stuff and went to leave, no start again!!! AAAARRRGH! Popped clutch again.

Drove to Roanoke, and stopped at my gas station there, no start again!!! Popped it in reverse and was on my way. Getting frustrating though. It's never been this bad before. Made it home, went to bed.

Got up this morning to go to work and was fully expecting car not to start, but it started right up fine and has been starting great all day. It's been hot today, but I haven't taken it on any long trips today. So, what do you think is my problem? It was hot driving Sat and Sun so I'm thinking maybe battery, I will check it when the storm stops. I know starter and solenoid are good, I just put them in not too long ago. I'm wondering if i have to install the Muir solenoid. Someone very recently mentioned something about a Bosch relay kit that is designed to do what the Muir solenoid does. Could someone send that info to me??

Is it a difficult install?

BTW, another bit of weirdness. Driving back at night on Sunday all of a sudden the front dome light started flickering on and off. I turned the switch to off instead of the door position and that stopped it. I checked all the wiring today but can't find anything shorting out. What gives?

Sean


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