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Fri Aug 01, 2008 3:04 am

Greetings again!

Well, again, thank you SO much to every one who posted- all the tidbits helped.. The update as of Friday 3am is my Vanagon is still stranded(been stuck for 2 weeks)- BUT today I did what was suggested and tested for spark, holding the center wire from the distributor cap about 1/4" from the A/C bracket .. Turns out, I got NO spark! So can this possibly mean that the Hall sender/sensor in the distributor is likely the culprit?

Fri Aug 01, 2008 1:07 pm

Question: Can anyone tell me how I can check to see if there's any spark going TO the ignition coil? I just spoke with a mechanic friend of mine & told him what my 86 Vanagon was doing, and he said to check if there's spark/power going TO the ignition coil.. I have no idea how to do that. Thanks in advance for any assistance on that.

Fri Aug 01, 2008 1:17 pm

Put a voltmeter to the spade connections on the coil, one of the two should produce a pulsing 12V signal when cranking and the other should be 12 V when the ignition is on. If you have both of those the Hall is sending, if the pulsing is missing the hall is not. So no pulses, dead hall sender or bad wires/plug from the hall. If you get pulses and no spark, dead coil.

Tue Aug 05, 2008 9:18 pm

I'm baaaaaaaaaaaack...

Well, I'm really getting frustrated; yesterday I bought a new '86 Vanagon distributor, and I believe I did an excellent job of replacing the distributor(my first time doing it correctly- WOOO HOOOOO! :P ), setting the rotor in the correct position... I went to start it up, and... SAME result as before(it wants to start, but acts like its out of fuel)! As Homer Simpson always says, "Doh!!" :x
Well, when I tested it for spark(testing it by removing the center top wire from the distributor cap, then holding it about 2" away from the end, & holding the end of the wire away about a 1/4" from the A/C bracket), I STILL didnt see any spark jumping.

I did the light test for voltage also, where it lit up solid when I touched it to one of the ignition coil leads(positive) with the ignition/acc on, but no light came from the other ignition coil leads. I also checked the unplugged Hall Sender plug, and I got a solid light on my tester when I tested it there.

I havent done it, but when I get some bread, I'm gonna go buy another ignition coil and ignition switch; Although I used the ignition coil from my 81 Vanagon(I bought my ignition coil for my 81 about 4 years old from Auto Zone), and used my 1981 Vanagon's ignition switch(I bought that about 4 years old also), it didnt seem to make a difference.

In about the last 3 weeks or so since my Vanagon left me stranded, I've spent a lot of bread buying parts I didnt need(but I can use in the future should I keep my strong, non-leaking, non-oil-dripping good 2.1 motor): An engine Computer/ECU/ECM, Air-Flow Meter/Box, fuel pump, relays for fuel pump, so I'm broke at the moment..

OH! Question: on my 86, I can't find my ignition control module(the black one) or the green one(Idle stabilizer) either.. I see them on my 81, but not in my 86. My ECU was under my rear bench seat in my 86, while my ECU in my 81 is behind my passenger-side tail-light. Can anyone tell me where I can find those two in their 86 Vanagons?

Thanks for all your answers so far, and my apologies for the long text..