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Date:         Tue, 28 Apr 1998 02:52:46 EDT
Reply-To:     Ssittservl <Ssittservl@AOL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <Vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         Ssittservl <Ssittservl@AOL.COM>
Subject:      Question: starting problem
Comments: To: vanagon@vanagon.com
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII

I had something odd happen to my '88 vanagon camper a few days ago, and wondered if anyone had any ideas.

My wife was driving it, and had our two year old daughter and 4 month old son along. Here's the sequence of events, as well as I can reconstruct it:

- To begin with, van is running fine. - Map light over glove box is falling out of position. It gets jiggled at some point, and the radio/accesories/etc. fuse blows. - Van is parked at a shopping center. - Upon return to van from shopping center, van won't start. - Accessory fuse replaced (realizing this shouldn't affect starting - but hey, it would be sillier to NOT replace it). All the rest of the fuses under the dashboard look good (and as far as I can tell, none have anything to do with the starter anyway). - Still won't start. Everything else works fine - radio, lights, fans, etc. When key is turned to "on", everything acts as it normally does. But when key is advanced to "start", nothing happens - the starter doesn't even try to turn. The effect is exactly as if the gear shift (automatic) were in something other than "Park" or "Neutral". - ...so, I (having arrived to transport my stranded family home) take apart the gear shift housing, to check the electrical switch in there that senses what gear the lever's in. It seems OK; also, I short the contacts to simulate "Park", and still no start. - Opened engine compartment; looked for giant blinking lights saying "the electrical fault is here", or possibly some secret fuse the manual failed to mention. No luck, but then I don't know alot about engines. - Checked all the fuses under the dashboard; everything looks good. - Between my wife and I, we probably tried to start the engine at least 20 times over two hours. - Too late to get a tow truck, or anyone to come look at it, so prepared to abandon ship. Unloaded everything and everybody into my reliable Honda Civic. - Prayed that I could get the thing started just once, so I didn't need to come back the next day and spend half a day getting it towed. Turned the key... and it started. - Drove to local VW mechanic, stopped engine, and restarted it about 5 times. Seemed OK, so I took it home. It has worked fine since. - Called VW mechanic. He said that, since it's currently working, it probably wasn't worth having him try to diagnose the problem - he might never find it. (He's German-sounding, and previously reccomended by Vanagon list members, so I assume he knows what he's talking about.)

Clearly I should have prayed earlier. Thankful as I am that it started, though, I don't think it would be right to hope for a miracle each time I turn the key. So now I'm afraid somebody's going to end up stranded again, but this time it will be in a snowstorm, deep in a forest, out where cell phones don't reach, with extras from "Deliverance" staring menacingly from the bushes.

Anyone have any ideas what happened, or what to do about it?

-Steven


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