Date:         Tue, 18 May 1999 10:11:08 +0200
Reply-To:     Duclos Darie <Darie.Duclos@UNIFR.CH>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Duclos Darie <Darie.Duclos@UNIFR.CH>
Subject:      battery cable contact problem
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

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