Date:         Fri, 11 Oct 1996 23:45:10 -0300 (ADT)
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         smitht@unb.ca (Tim Smith)
Subject:      Bad injector wire = stuttering

A quick FYI folks....

On the '85 CrewCab, 1.9l engine

problem was:
- van running on 3 cyls at idle, no throttle,
- on 4 above say 2000RPM but only on light throttle,
- stumbling/bucking/misfires under full throttle throughout mid-upper range,
- fine when wound right out. (nothing like 'shifting' an autobox to get it
moving)

seemed like spark prob on one cyl, but wires were new Bosch, plugs Bosch
Supers, coil/cap newish, all by DPO, and giving ample spark at all 4 cyls.

figured out which cyl by pulling leads one by one
swapped injector connectors with adjacent cyl, now it has a different dead
cyl, hmmm...

Injector wire insulation was hard as a rock. One lead had cracked through
and allowed the wire to corrode almost through.  This was hidden up a little
ways inside the fatter plastic 'tubing' that surrounds the FI wire bundles.
Injector was getting enough current over one or two strands to handle low
load situations, but not full load operation. Engine vibration also
helped/thwarted contact. 
        Pain in the butt to find this, two weeks of piddling, cleaning up
every connector etc. Just wasn't thorough enough first time.  Runs fine now.
The message is that our vans are aging, hardening of the insulation or
corrosion of the crimped connections is happening to most of the FI system.
Anyone got an NOS FI harness for a 1.9l engine they're giving away?
Preferably one stored in a lightproof, ozone proof bag for the last 10
years?  bye, tim