I had this same problem. After many months and much =
towing it
turned out to be an intermittent wire that connects to the top =
of the
alternator that feeds power back through the firewall to the ECU. =
It would
lose electrical contact and the van would die in its' tracks. Then, =
after
sitting for a while - it would fire right up and run with no problem =
till the
next time. It happened once right in front of the VW mechanic while I =
was
standing there and he found the problem immediately. I hope this
helps.
Alan Ruffalo
88 Westy
99 S-500 mercedes
97 Toyota Avalon
1983 35 foot Catalina Sailboat
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Saturday, January 20, 2001 7:53 AM
Subject: Re: Wierd Electrical Gremlins
Jason,This happened to me,Try pushing the plug to =
ignition wires
going to the Key on the steering column.I had to replace the plug.
Please help!I have a 1984 Vanagon, and I had a really =
strange
thing happen on my way home from work yesterday. I went around a =
corner
near my house, and was accellerating up the hill, when, suddenly, ALL =
of my
electrics went dead (even the radio, which isn't on the ignition
circuit). Naturally, this killed the spark to the engine as =
well, so I
coasted to a stop at the side of the road. I turned the key off, =
waited
a few seconds, then tried to start it. The electrics came back =
on, and
the engine tried to crank, but wouldn't. I then got out, went to =
the
back, and looked over the engine compartment to see if anything looked =
amiss. It didn't. I then went back up, and tried to =
restart
it. After a few tries, it fired right up, and motored the rest =
of the
way home with no problems whatsoever.My question is this: what should I be looking for, and =
where
should I start to try to diagnose this? Has anyone else on the =
list had
this happen? I would almost suspect a problem with the battery =
or
ignition switch, but I may be on the totally wrong track
there.I would =
appreciate any
advice anyone on the list could give me. Thanks in
advance. -Jason
Stevenson