Date: 25 Jan 97 19:05:07 +0000
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From: Kirk van Druten <kirk@lansharks.batnet.com>
Subject: FWD>Help!!! Broken down on a dirt road in Costa Rica!
FWD>Help!!! Broken down on a dirt road in Costa Rica! 97-01-25 10:=
02:57
Hey everyone,
My friends Dave and Whitney are in their '88 Westy in Costa Rica! They =
drove it all the way down there from the San Francisco bay area! I just =
got the following message from them. I gave a few basic troubleshooting =
ideas and some experiences I had while troubleshooting my dying ECU =
computer but thought I would forward his message to the wisdom of the list.=
I'm off list at the moment-I'll be your best friend if you email any =
troubleshooting tips directly to him (and copy to me if possible). His =
address is davidadair@aol.com
I'm at lansharks@batnet.com Thanks mucho in advance.
Kirk out
--------------------------------------
Date: 1/25/97 7:48 AM
>From: DavidAdair
Serious question, dude-man. Driving down a dirt road, no problemas, going
maybe 25 mph, and the car died suddenly, no sputtering, no nothing, just
dead. Still have electrical systems, battery, etc., just absolutely no
ignition.
We've had a number of occasions where the car "burps", and stalls for just =
a
second, like what I remember you describing yours doing. I've also heard =
of
someone who's VW used to crap out for 10 minutes, then run fine again for =
a
month, when it would happen again. We've been baking in the sun for about =
3
hours, waiting for a mechanic to show up, and nothing's improved.
Question on my mind is primarily whether the "computer" could totally die.
Also, I've only checked the basics, like loose wires and made sure the =
rotor
is turning. What else should I be checking? Since it was so sudden, it
seems like it must be electrical, like a loose or broken wire or that durn
computer. Where is the computer, anyway? Is it the funky piece next to =
the
air filter? What about the "controller" under the back seat?
If you can e-mail some response pronto, please do. We're probably spending=
the night here, and can call in for messages. If you can relay =
information
from Rodrigo if the need arises, that would be awesome. Depending on what
the mechanic can find or not find, we'll just call Rodrigo directly, since =
he
speaks Spanish anyway. I appreciate any advice you have.
Cheers mon,
Dave (and Whitney).... late-breaking update: we got towed to a garage =
where
a German guy looked at our car and found only a little bit of testability =
in
the ignition system. It looks like we'll replace our control unit. I =
called
Gandalf's to find out how difficult it is to get the part, cuz we're going
nowhere til we get it. I'll keep you posted.
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