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Mon Feb 22, 2010 12:45 am

Background:
After my recent dramas with battery/regulators/alternators/charging issues, I finally had to put my Bus in for a thorough going over by a mechanic.
He tested my alternator and verified that everything was ok. Seems I was unlucky and got 2 faulty regulators in a row!

So I drive out of the shop on friday, and about after stopping at the bank, I get in and start it up.

It runs REALLY rough, with dashboard lights staying on,
and as soon as I let the clutch out it dies.
this continues for a while as I limp back towards the shop about 10 yards at a time.
Of course by the time I get to the shop, it's running fine, better than ever.

I've been away all weekend and start it up this morning and have the same problem. just won't run, sounds like a bag of spanners.

Feels to me like a fuel starvation problem. but other than that I have no clue.

all suggestions welcome!

Mon Feb 22, 2010 7:47 am

Did you confirm valve adjustment, timing, points, fuel filter, choke, idle screws, etc? Are you running dual Solexes? Have they been rebuilt?

Mon Feb 22, 2010 7:59 am

All of the above are fine. But certainly could not have changed dramatically in the space of a few hours.
The intermittant nature of the problem suggests it's not those to me.
Carbs are delortos. And again, were running fine until friday afternoon.
The problem appeared after the mechanic had tested the alternator. (He found no problems other than the regulator)

Mon Feb 22, 2010 8:00 am

Sounds electrical... like your losing your connection somewhere. I would check my ground straps...

Mon Feb 22, 2010 8:01 am

Any black smoke out of the tailpipe when this is happening?

Mon Feb 22, 2010 9:08 am

No smoke.
The battery to body ground strap is fine. I'm not sure where exactly the transmission to body one is. Can someone give me a rough location?

Mon Feb 22, 2010 9:12 am

on the vanagon it was on the front of the tranny.. but since it happened immediately after service its probably something simple like loose wire on regulator or engine to body ground.. Think about what was done and check each of those areas (disconnect then reconnect wires and such.
Sometimes those O connectors lose it right at the crimp point, spade lugs too...

Mon Feb 22, 2010 11:40 am

well I've crawled about and the tranny ground strap seems fine.
Dosed it in WD40 anyway to give it a clean.

nothing else seems amiss down there

fuel filter seems clean and clear.

still at a loss.

it does run momentarily when I fill the carbs up with fuel but dies fairly soon.

SO i was about to get a friend to tow me back around to the mechanic, when all of a sudden it starts and runs perfectly!!!

so able to drive it around to the mechanic and he's going to look at it tomorrow. He currently seems as stumped as I am though

wish me luck!

Mon Feb 22, 2010 1:00 pm

Sounds like you might have a problem with your fuel pump or the power feeding it. That it will start after filling the carbs would indicate this. Sometimes when electric fuel pumps are failing they will run intermittently.

Mon Feb 22, 2010 1:05 pm

Wildthings wrote: Sounds like you might have a problem with your fuel pump or the power feeding it. That it will start after filling the carbs would indicate this. Sometimes when electric fuel pumps are failing they will run intermittently.

would loosening/braking any of the connections in or around the regulator have caused this?

as far as I know I have a mechanical fuel pump on this.

Mon Feb 22, 2010 1:43 pm

If you have a mechanical fuel pump this would rule out an electrical problem. Still could be a problem with a mechanical pump, but knocking or jarring the wires would have had no affect on a mechanical pump.

Sorry I can't be of more help. :cry:

Mon Feb 22, 2010 1:48 pm

no need for sorrys, you've been a massive help many a time. 8)
I'm certainly in your debt.

it's with the mechanic now. hopefully he can sort it

Mon Feb 22, 2010 4:09 pm

If this is type 1 engine, look to see if the pivot pin on the fuel pump is still there. Sometimes they wiggle out. In my case it fell out and was right at the base of the Alt. stand. Mimics what you are getting except for dash lights staying on. That confuses me. I like the "bag of spanners" description. :)

Mon Feb 22, 2010 4:56 pm

mook wrote: well I've crawled about and the tranny ground strap seems fine.
Dosed it in WD40 anyway to give it a clean.

nothing else seems amiss down there

fuel filter seems clean and clear.

still at a loss.

it does run momentarily when I fill the carbs up with fuel but dies fairly soon.

SO i was about to get a friend to tow me back around to the mechanic, when all of a sudden it starts and runs perfectly!!!

Sounds like a fuel problem to me, like maybe a sticking float in one of the carbs. Or do you have two separate fuel filters, one to each carb? One might be full of crud. :?:

so able to drive it around to the mechanic and he's going to look at it tomorrow. He currently seems as stumped as I am though

wish me luck!

Tue Feb 23, 2010 12:11 am

TomWesty wrote: If this is type 1 engine, look to see if the pivot pin on the fuel pump is still there. Sometimes they wiggle out. In my case it fell out and was right at the base of the Alt. stand. Mimics what you are getting except for dash lights staying on. That confuses me. I like the "bag of spanners" description. :)

Type IV engine.
"bag of spanners" can also be used to describe someone's face (not in a good way) :wink:

Tue Feb 23, 2010 12:17 am

wampe wrote: Sounds like a fuel problem to me, like maybe a sticking float in one of the carbs. Or do you have two separate fuel filters, one to each carb? One might be full of crud. :?:

only one fuel filter as far as I can see.
I have been having odd idle issues for a while now, racing/dying alternately. possible carb issues seems a possibility.

Tue Feb 23, 2010 7:57 am

mook wrote: wampe wrote: Sounds like a fuel problem to me, like maybe a sticking float in one of the carbs. Or do you have two separate fuel filters, one to each carb? One might be full of crud. :?:

only one fuel filter as far as I can see.
I have been having odd idle issues for a while now, racing/dying alternately. possible carb issues seems a possibility.

The fact that you can prime the carbs and get it to run briefly makes me think it's a fuel problem. :bay_red:

Tue Feb 23, 2010 1:36 pm

OK

she's back from the mechanics, and for the moment at least appears to be running ok. yes. only "OK"

the story is: THe recent regulator failure and subsequent high voltage appears to have burnt out the electronic ignition.
the guy didn't have a spare available so he put in old fashioned points.

so I got in and drove off, noticing that it all felt a little sluggish, like the timing was out. Timing readjusted and running better.

Question 1: Would the switch from electronic to points require re-timing?

THe mechanic also told me my fuel pressure was low. and then said he couldn't find the fuel pump.

Question 2: where should I expect to find the fuel pump in this engine? (type IV)

One thing I have notice is that the rev counter seems to have gone haywire. Redlining at 50mph in 4th gear. Now I know the engine isn't revving like this, it's running pretty much normal.

Question 3: Could the change from Electronic to points have affected the rev counter? if so can I "re calibrate" it? and if so.. how?

feel like this is maybe mostly sorted but not sure about how it's running after all this.

thanks!

Tue Feb 23, 2010 1:40 pm

First off find another mechanic, WOW :shock:

Yes, any time you do anything inside the distributor you must reset the timing.
If you still have the stock mechanical fuel pump it's on the lower RH front corner of the engine, just below the starter.

As for the tach? Try disconnecting it and see how it runs.

Tue Feb 23, 2010 1:48 pm

busdaddy wrote: First off find another mechanic, WOW :shock:
because he didn't time it or can't find the fuel pump? (or both?)
He seemed sure there was no mechanical fuel pump on there... :?

busdaddy wrote: As for the tach? Try disconnecting it and see how it runs.
am I right in thinking it runs off a wire to the coil? there's a green one which seems to run forward. are you thinking it could be causing it to run bad?