I fixed the running problems....I think...I hope...I Pray

[thinair]

Well, I posted on here about a month ago about some problems with a surging problem that happened after the van warmed up. Many of you offered a lot of great advice and the following is what it took to get my westy running again.

First I replaced the O2 sensor, the van ran great for a day, but the problem came back the next day. Next I replaced the temp 2 sensor, and the thermostat, no change..... Now with a renewed sense of hopelessness I began reading more information on line. The following article from van-cafe helped a lot:

http://www.van-cafe.com/vanagonparts.jsp?pa=ip&ip=389083196

I tried the next step on their list of things to check: The Ground Wires!

I looked at them and they were very green with 20 years of sea air corrosion. Unfortunately I was half way between Fresno and Death Valley when I discovered that problem and I did not have my socket set to get those wires off. (lesson learned!) I nursed the van home and went to work on replacing all the connection points as well as the badly corroded ground strap.

The factory did not solder the connection points. I did that as well as sand down nice shiny spots on the body and engine where the grounds attach. (top of cylnder head 1)

Yesterday I took the van up into the local mountains with the wife. Drove over 100 miles on some nice 8% grades and NO PROBLEMS to speak of yet! Yesssss!!!!!

All I need to do now is to lower the idle that I raised so I could get home from Death Valley.

Now thinking back it was interesting how the van would run great on days when it was raining. The moisture in the corrosion was helping the grounds work on rainy days. That's why I got all the way to the high desert before the problems started up again. In fact the running problems started back up about 30 minutes after it stopped raining somewhere just outside the high desert. Thats when I found the bad wires. The next day we drove back home, (raining the whole way) and the van ran just fine. Yesterday's test drive was in dry weather, I think I hope I pray that it is fixed!!!!

Just to think I almost sprung for a new computer

Check those wires if you are having problems, it was a very easy fix!

[msinabottle]

Yes, I found that my MAIN BATTERY GROUND was to paint. That changed. Rapidly. I found some air-drill grinding bits that chucked into the Makita just fine and have been using those to grind down to bare metal.

You can use those exterior-teethed toothed washers to assist some smaller grounds, on the big ones, I'm told you want as much metal to metal contact as you can get. Grind, wipe, attach, washer, tighten--then cover the whole thing with dielectric grease or some kind of corrosion fighting paint to keep the process from repeating.

Savor your victory! Even if it's NOT the final solution to the problem, it's better done.

Best!

[Randy in Maine]

If you were to go to an electrical supply place (like for appliance repair guys) they sell a tube of stuff called "De Ox" which is an antioxidizer for electrical connections.

Use it on the battery connections, starter connections and the grounds AFTER they are clean and tight. They will stay good for a long time.