Some days you just get lucky

[eche_bus]

A couple days ago I had an experience I just have to share.

Last fall, shortly after purchase, our bus left me stranded in a hardware store parking lot. It had been running and starting well but as I left to go home, it wouldn't fire. It turned over fine, just no ignition. After wiggling wires and re-seating connectors and sitting around trying to figure out what to do, it fired up like there was nothing ever wrong.

When I got it back home, it left me stranded in the driveway. I was just learning about VWs, but got my first lesson in the double relay circuit, tracing the problem to a bad Previous Owner repair - poorly crimped splice connector. Fixed right, it fired back up and I felt proud to have made my first ever VW bus repair.

Just before winter I filled up the gas tank and put in some Sta-Bil as it would be the last the bus would be driven for what turned out to be *6 damn months* of Minnesota winter. But, as I pulled away from the station, the bus stalled. It wasn't at all prone to do this and when I turned the key on again it fired right up and ran fine all the way home.

Since that time I've driven it in and out of the garage, but that's about it. Each time it's started and run normally. Several days ago though, when I went to bring it back inside, it wouldn't fire. I tried several times to start it and it finally did and ran normally. The next day ... nothing. Despite repeated tries, it would only turn over. Finally it started but then stalled and wouldn't restart.

It was time to get to the bottom of things.

I figured I'd start with checking out the double relay circuit again as per the Bentley. Power was where it should be at the relay terminals. I listened to the fuel pump. It was silent, but back at the relay all was good. The wires looked good at each end of the pump harness. Ah, what about the pump ground? It's not grounded nearby at the chassis but all the way back at the firewall. Sure enough, there was no fuel pump ground. Inspecting the fuel pump harness under the bus I found a small slice in the outer jacket but couldn't see much else.

So I pulled the harness back into the engine compartment ...

... and found this:

How this bus ever ran, I'll never know. Why the bus didn't sputter or stall more than that one time as it was driven over bumps is a mystery. This wasn't new damage and I didn't find the harness pinched or jammed near where I first spotted the slice. There couldn't have been more than a thread of copper left before it finally quit. It quit in my garage. That could have happened in the middle of a state park in the dead of night in the pouring rain.

Moral? Sometimes you're luckier than you think.

Hope you enjoyed the adventure.

[Red Fau Veh]

That's crazy! Oh and I have that same 76 green westy bus, people really like the green ones apparently.
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1971 Deluxe Sunroof Bay 1905 stroker, dual idf40's, 74mm Scat forged crank, engle 110 cam. CB 044 heads, AutoCraft rockers, chromoly push rods
1973 Orange transporter stock type 4 with dual 40 Dellortos and Empi single quiet pack
1969 Adventurewagen blue whale Gene Berg 1776 built by Dave Kawell dual 36 DRLA's, Vintage Speed exhaust, Bosch 019 screamer
1961 Swivel Seat camper, L345 grey

[obnoxiousblue]

Have a green Westy too! It's almost like, were FAMILY!

Nice work on the fault.
That's the kind of thing that takes patience...
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Mike
1964 Beetle
2001 Eurovan Camper

[atmellovw]

Just wanted to corroborate that this winter has been the pits!
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1972 Westy ("Bubbles") - Pastel White - 1700(1974 MT) - Dual Solex