<<I have also suffered the failure of my ECU on a '84 Digijet 1.9 =
litre Westy.
When it happened, it locked the injectors open (I found out later)and as=
a result , after running for a few seconds, the engine quit and would not r=
estart.
I did not know the injectors were open and I continued to crank the engi=
ne until the battery was dead. I jumped it off and tried in vain to st=
art it.
I replaced several ignition components and did several tests,over severa=
l days, each time cranking and cranking, to no avail.
Then the engine did finally start. It ran very rough and when I=
revved it, It spewed oil out of the exhaust pipe and smelt of gas.
I immediarely shut it down and checked the crankcase and found it full o=
f oil and gas.
Then I made a couple of phone calls to a parts dealer in Michigan who to=
ld me that this happens when the ECU fails.
I drained the oil, put in fresh, borrowed a known good ECU and it cranke=
d and ran fine. I sent the ECU to Darrell B=
oehler but he has not been able to fix it.
Later on I had a bucking problem and thought the ECU had failed again.
However, it turned out to the wire going to be the Aux Air regulator und=
er the airbox which was going to ground and depriving the injectors of their=
ground through the ECU. This wire is connected to the injectors wi=
th a hidden connection inside the wiring loom. It was very hard to =
find.
I rewired the aux air valve to get its power from another source and hav=
ent had a problem since.
Just wanted to share my experience with the group, and it may be relevan=
t to your problem.
Good luck with your van,
Steve Cotsford>>
-
Steve, List,
I put a voltage spike surge protector in my charging system to protect t=
he ECU and other 12 volt electronics . (laptop, etc.)
It seems to make sense that a transient spike can ruin a PC, why not an =
ECU?
The product is from a company in NJ called VDC.(http://www.vdcelectronic=
s.com/ )
This company also makes trickle chargers that won't overcharge batteries=
.
Thought you and the list might be interested. I can't be certain that th=
is accounts for the cause of Vanagon ECU failure, but it can't hurt to elimi=
nate one of the possibilities.
Robert
1982 Westfalia