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Date:         Sun, 31 Jan 1999 10:24:15 -0500
Reply-To:     David-M <dmcs@CYBURBAN.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         David-M <dmcs@CYBURBAN.COM>
Organization: .
Subject:      Re: '83 wasserboxer wiring harness melted!
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

James, Daniel wrote: > > Hope you weekend went better than mine. Turns out late last week that my > '83 Vanagon broke down while my girlfriend was driving up highway 101 in > Oregon. > > Bizarre circumstances. I've been searching the web for clues, but haven't > found many. Apparently, she drove for 10 miles and stopped at the bank. > Wwhen she started it up again, it felt sluggish - like it was running out of > gas. She headed back home w/ the hazards on, but someone signalled her to > pull over. The catalytic converter was glowing red! > > Some mechanic on the coast has it now. I looked at it on Sat.and the wiring > harness (all the engine wiring) has significantly melted in a few spots - > requiring a new harness (new cost = $900!), but he found a used one for > $150. But I'm afraid that once he installs that, the original problem will > still exist. Also, there's a good chance that the catalytic converter is > toast (there are scorch marks on the sheet metal below the bumper) and that > the on-baord fuel injector computer is toast, too. Both are big $$ to > replace. One clue is that the relays for the fuel injection system have > some molten wires - maybe a relay failed and that caused the original > prob?.... Maybe the O2 sensor light that popped on 3 months ago was trying > to tell me something? (I thought that the O2 warning light was just a > prompt to check the functionality of the sensor...) > > >From what I can tell here's what happened: > > the wiring harness failed (short?), triggering the fuel injectors full on, > pumping excess gas into the engine. The catalytic converter tried to burn > off the excess fuel, resulting in a fire inside the converter. The > resultant heat melted some more of the wiring. > > Any good ideas?

I guess thats the price of progress. It could never have happened with an old-fashioned unreliable carburettor.


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