Date:         Mon, 19 Aug 1996 15:15:15 -0700
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         surfrider@batnet.com (Gavin Flanagan)
Subject:      Stalling diagnosis (FI related?) -- update

Hello Again Volks,

Thanks to everyone who replied to my post yesterday. I really appreciate
what this list has to offer and hope that soon I will be able to give
assistance, as well as receive it.

My problem is that my 78 Westy stalls after about 30 seconds. She used to
begin to stall at about 120 degrees but I could keep her going by reving
the engine. Once she was hotter than 120, she never stalled. What follows
are hopefully all the answers to the questions I received:

In terms of resources/tools, I have Muir's Idiot Guide, the Bentley manual,
a good friend with a bit more knowledge than I have, a volt-ohm meter, and
lotsa tools. Also, a stubborn persistence to solve this problem myself.

So anyway, yesterday we rolled up our sleeves and started to poke around.
This is one of my first times doing something more complicated than
changing the oil, filters, etc. so a lot of time was spent getting familiar
with Nellie's innards.

All wires and connections looked good. Hoses were all tight. There
definitely is gas in the tank. We changed the fuel and air filters. While
trying to start her we *think* we heard the fuel pump clicking and we
definitely smelled gas. Also, the distributor was sparking. We tested the
resistance on both temp sensors. #1 was under 2500 ohms but #2 was slightly
over (2630).

As of today, I am hoping that temp sensor #2 is the culprit. I was able to
find the tiny little part for $26 at a great local shop (anyone else know
of Tassi?). The dealer wanted me to wait 10 days and then charge me $67.
Grrr....

============================
Things I have not checked yet:

-condensor on the side of the distributor
-double relay unit (where is it?)

*Any other suggestions?*
============================
Side note:

We had a helluva hard time finding temp sensor II. We knew from Bently and
Muir where it is *supposed* to be and we kept rooting around in between
cylinders #3 and #4. Finally we figured out that the PO had temp sensor II
moved near cylinder #1, on the opposite side of the engine. I assume he did
this because #3 & #4 tend to run hotter... has anyone out there done (or
heard of) this?

Thanks for taking the time to read this and any suggestions will be much
appreciated.

See you on the road! (hopefully soon)