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Date:         Thu, 23 Jul 1998 12:54:06 -0400
Reply-To:     "John S. Cronin" <john.cronin@OIT.GATECH.EDU>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <Vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         "John S. Cronin" <john.cronin@OIT.GATECH.EDU>
Subject:      hot start relay didn't work - now what?
Comments: To: type2@type2.com, vanagon@vanagon.com
Comments: cc: jsc@swamp.oit.gatech.edu
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

I have a 1981 Westfalia I acquired recently, and it has a serious hot start problem. Symptoms are typical - one or two stops, maybe three, it starts OK but by the third one it might take a while to light properly. By the third stop or later it is very difficult to start, or won't start at all. Once, after some serious highway driving, and a couple of minutes of trying to start, it would not even turn over (at all, not even a click from the starter solenoid) even though I have dual batteries and a quick check of lights etc showed I have plenty of juice.

I know it is heat related, because if I open the rear hatch and remove the engine cover for a few minutes, it clears up and I can start fine. The lack of juice to the starter when the lights etc work great indicates it is not a vapor lock or something like that.

Last weekend, I decided to work on it (I have had the van for about three weeks). I opened both battery compartments, cleaned the terminals and the battery cables, pulled the ground straps loose and cleaned up around their connections, replaced one of the ground straps entirely, and replaced an old battery with one that is about five months old. (I also cleaned up and regreased the swivel mechanisms of the front seats while I was under there, and cleaned up some of the battery corrosion (only in ONE battery box - yeah!), etc.

Then I crawled under the car, pulled the various connectors from the starter and cleaned them up and inspected the cables, pulled the groundstrap from the transaxle to the chassis on both ends and cleaned it, and then wired in a Bosch relay as explained in these mailing lists and various documents on the web.

Result: I still have a hot start problem. What should I try next? Replace or rebuild the starter? Pull all new wires (I really don't want to do that)? Wait till winter? Be more patient (yeah, right)? Replace or clean the battery isolator switch, or some other switch/component? Buy a new van?

Thanks in advance for any and all suggestions,

John Cronin

-- John S. Cronin phone: (404) 894-6164 Office of Information Technology Operations and Engineering 0715 Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta Georgia, 30332 Internet: john.cronin@oit.gatech.edu


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