Date: Thu, 3 Jun 1999 03:52:31 -0700
Reply-To: Coby Smolens <cobys@WELL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Coby Smolens <cobys@WELL.COM>
Subject: Re: Help! irratic idling while wet
In-Reply-To: <199906012242.SAA10911@musone.chek.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Hi Paul,
The power steering is connected to the idle stabilizer control unit which
lives in front of the right hand taillight assembly. The kind of problem you
describe could well be related to the idle stabilizer and/or its control
unit. When the AC or PS is operated at idle the stabilizer system is
supposed to kick in, boosting the idle speed just enough to keep it stable
(hence the name). If the wires that go to the PS pump were disconnected, I
would expect the idle to take a dive every time the steering wheel was
turned. It's very possible for the idle stabilizer system to start having
on-again/off-again weird behavior problems and its alleged disappearance
might be a coincidence. We'll hope not, as both main parts of this system,
the stabilizer and the control unit, are rather pricey ($250 ea, more or
less). Wiring in the system should of course be checked before parts are
replaced, then if possible known good bits substituted for the suspect ones
for testing. Oh, yes - first thing - make sure the idle speed is set
correctly. If someone set the idle speed while the PS wires were
disconnected it's possible they compensated in a way that now needs to be
corrected since those wires are back in the loop. Good luck!
Coby Smolens, Owner
Valley Wagonworks
VW Bus and Vanagon Repair
1535 Sir Francis Drake Blvd.
San Anselmo, CA 94960
415 457-5628
http://wagonworks.com
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM]On Behalf
> Of paul banks
> Sent: Tuesday, June 01, 1999 3:43 PM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Re: Help! irratic idling while wet
>
>
> On paul banks <paulbanks@nllfan.com> wrote:
> >
> >I would greatly appreciate immediate help concerning a
> particular idling problem. I need to get this fixed before next
> weekend as I am taking some kids on the Cuberee campout (Scouts).
> >
> >Under damp conditions, my idle will fluctuate from 1000 to 3000
> rpms. It may also just not begin the idle properly. Under dry
> conditions, everything seems to work fine.
> >
> Thanks to Joel, Robert and Kit for their suggestions. I did the
> easy thing first and sprayed WD40 in the Idle Stabilizer Valve. I
> then noticed that the wires going to the power steering pump were
> loose. I reconnected them. My van nows seems to run good even in
> wet weather. Does the power steering connetions affect the
> iginition? I believe Bentley refers to the power steering in
> reference to the Control Unit. Is it all interconnected?
>
> Another dumb question. Where do I find the O2 sensor? I can find
> a picture of it in the manual but it doesn't say where to find
> it. It assumes that the location is already known from what I can tell.
>
> Thanks in advance.
>
> Paul Banks
> '89 Vanagon Westfalia
>
> Signup for your FREE NLL FAN account at http://www.nllfan.com
>
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