TheSamba.com :: View topic - Van dies when I put it in gear (automatic)

Mon May 30, 2022 9:14 am

Hi all,
Went to the store yesterday. The van started great and ran fine. Went 1/2 mile to a stoplight and when I accelerated from the light the van died. I rolled to the side of the road and it restarted just fin, but when I put it into gear it died again. I repeated starting it 7 or 8 times with the same result. I started it and got into the engine compartment to look for anything unusual. Everything looked fine. I pulled the throttle linkage to rev the engine and it reved fine. I got back into the drivers seat put it into gear and it worked. I drove 3 miles to the store and back with no further problem.

Has this happened to anyone else? Was this just a random, mysterious vanagon event? Is there something I should investigate? Any thoughts?

Mon May 30, 2022 9:21 am

Did you recently refuel?

Water laden fuel will often run ok until you ask for some power, then crap out.

Dave

Mon May 30, 2022 9:28 am

Hi djkeev,
Yes I did recently put gas in but only about 7 gallons to fill it up. I suppose I could pour some "HEET" in there to absorb the moisture.

Mon May 30, 2022 10:09 am

Been raining a bit where you live? Could be water getting into the tops of the expansion tanks.

Tue May 31, 2022 11:28 am

I put a can of "HEET" in and I had driven about 30 miles and everything seemed to be fine until this morning. It died again, actually several times. It seems to happen when I decelerate and turn (left or right). It starts right up and runs fine for a while. Could a faulty Power Steering pressure switch cause this? I have a GW-EFI so I don't have an idle control unit. Any thoughts?

Tue May 31, 2022 11:30 am

If HEET made a difference you likely have water in your tank and need to fix the seals on the expansion tanks to keep more water from getting in each time you drive in the rain.

Tue May 31, 2022 12:12 pm

If you had water contamination in your fuel due to faulty evaporation tank seals or fuel tank seals then you might have more water than HEET will be able to conquer.

It might be best that you drain off a part of your fuel tank into a clear container to assess what's going on with your fuel. Water is heavier than gasoline, so it will settle in the bottom a fuel tank or container.

Tue May 31, 2022 2:50 pm

I drained about a quart of fuel from the tank, let it sit for about an hour and there is no sign of water in the tank. I was hoping that was the problem because it has a simple solution but no cigar.

Any other thoughts?

Wed Jun 01, 2022 1:52 pm

clamay wrote: I drained about a quart of fuel from the tank, let it sit for about an hour and there is no sign of water in the tank. I was hoping that was the problem because it has a simple solution but no cigar.

Any other thoughts? Double check that the Crankcase Breather Hose does not have a split on it, hiding on the bottom of the hose. My Automatic '84 was dying out at stops intermittently with a fairly new hose splitting about a good 1 1/2" on the bottom , where it was not easily seen. I think the hose would flex open when coming to a stop, the idle speed crashed down, and once the engine had stalled, the hose sealed up a bit, and you restarted easily, with idle at that point not really affected due to the hose sealing up a bit until it happened all over again.

Does the GoWesty System have an adjustable Closed Thottle switch or signal of some kind that can get out of adjustment. I seem to remember threads on this happening with their Throttles at least.. not sure.. :-k

Wed Jun 01, 2022 2:53 pm

Our 1987 with automatic transmission had an issue with the Neutral Safety Switch at the base of the shift tower working it’s way out of adjustment.

It definitely gave a lot of trouble trying to figure out why the van would not start. But I am uncertain if that condition, if intermittent, would also kill the engine once it is running.

Thu Jun 02, 2022 12:14 pm

Wasted youth wrote: Our 1987 with automatic transmission had an issue with the Neutral Safety Switch at the base of the shift tower working it’s way out of adjustment.

It definitely gave a lot of trouble trying to figure out why the van would not start. But I am uncertain if that condition, if intermittent, would also kill the engine once it is running.

I though of this, but the Neutral Safety Switch (NSS) only impacts the wires feeding the signal to the starter. So it will prevent turning the starter motor, but it will not stop the engine from turning.

Fri Jun 03, 2022 11:25 am

The NSS is tied to the Idle control module to bump up the RPM when the transmission is put in gear (power to line 50). If not adjusted properly or bypassed, the Idle control module will not get the proper signal which can cause stalling when put in gear.

Fri May 23, 2025 10:15 am

DigiMatrix wrote: The NSS is tied to the Idle control module to bump up the RPM when the transmission is put in gear (power to line 50). If not adjusted properly or bypassed, the Idle control module will not get the proper signal which can cause stalling when put in gear.

Power to line 50 appears to only occur when in park or neutral. It shouldn't affect drivability.