Date:         Wed, 19 May 1999 00:10:21 -0230
Reply-To:     Bob Norman <B.Norman@THEZONE.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Bob Norman <B.Norman@THEZONE.NET>
Subject:      Re: battery cable contact problem
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

Hi,
I've a couple of thoughts to contribute on this one.

First, was the starter you got new or remanufactured?  I've just gone
through five remanufactured Canadian Tire starters on my Golf since
December, four of them had faulty solenoids.  I was getting kind of
pissed towards the end of it and they put in a starter that was not from

their usual supplier. They contacted their supplier, and they were told
that there was a 1 in 3 return rate(!) on their VW starters, and that
they would be looking at their rebuild process.  Bottom line is, just
because it's "New" (mine was $270.00 - rebuilt!!) doesn't mean its not
faulty.

Other thought, and I've done this myself on my camper.  Buy a cheap set
of booster cables, rip them down the middle giving you two lengths of
heavy gauge wire. Use the wire to run a ground from the bottom bolt on
your starter (where it bolts to the transmission) to the bolt where your

battery ground cable connects to the body of your vehicle.  This way you

have a direct ground, really made a difference to mine.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,
Bob Norman
'81 Westy
Gander, Newfoundland
Canada

Duclos Darie wrote:

> Hello,
>
> started working on getting the bus back on the road for the
> summer this weekend. First off, it wouldn't start. Turning
> the ignition key made only a clicking sound. Looked like the
> starter was shot.
>
> Took the starter apart and tested the different functions
> and it looked like it turned but it didn't engage. Something
> wrong with the coil. (Actually our testing was wrong and it
> worked fine). Went and bought another starter which worked,
> installed it, same problem..
>
> So, we pulled out the battery and hooked it up directly to
> the starter to eliminate anything in between. It started.
> Slowly we reconnected everything around and in between, testing
> positive at each step, until the battery was back in its place
> and everything was normal. IT STARTED... Arg. (I'm a systems
> manager, I like to know where the problem lies).
>
> The assumption now is that there is something intermittently
> wrong with the long cable which connects the battery to
> the starter and runs right down the length of the bus. I did
> have a problem with this cable a couple of years ago. The
> end of it broke off when we were changing the starter and we
> recrimped it. It was a little shorter but seemed to work fine
> otherwise.
>
> It's such a large cable, I have trouble seeing how it could
> have a "bad contact". Could it be altogether broken along the
> way? When we tested with the battery in the back, the "contact"
> which caused the bus to start was a small ring touching the
> battery pole on it's side, a *very* small surface. So even if
> the cable is missing some bits, there should be enough of it
> left to let current through..
>
> Has anyone had problems with this cable? Do they rust? Is it
> a pain to change? Is it a mistake to get one second hand?
>
> Thanks for sharing your wisdom.
>
> Darie
> '86 Westy soon to be back on the road
>
> Fridge.. check
> Starter.. check
> Battery cable.. intermittent
> Swaying.. to do
> Rust.. to do
> Ugly decals.. to be removed



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