1.9 No spark, no start. Hall problem, need advice on fix

[akmush]

First, huge thanks to knowledgeable posters, in particular tencentlife and crazyvanman. I used the "search" tool a ton!

The details and then the question- 85 Weekender. No start. No spark. Turns over strong. Starts and drives fine at random times, then dies. Used Digijet Pro manual and troubleshooting steps from the above Samba gurus. Swapped known good ECU when no start condition present. No change. Coil, Fuel pump relays check out. Injectors not spraying fuel when it won't start so ECU not getting signal from Hall unit. I am 98% certain it is the Hall unit. but can a Hall unit work off and on?

Now to the fix- Very few posts about actually replacing Hall unit on the samba. Not much info in Bentley either. Some say it is a pain, you have to remove distributor, lots of tiny parts etc, others say it's easy, takes 10 minutes and can be done with distributor in vehicle.

Should I purchase Van Cafe Hall unit kit and attempt replacement, or go with used distributor from classifieds/e-bay, or buy the rebuilt listed in classifieds ($225)???

[Vanagon Nut]

Inspect the wires at the hall connector plug. Could be an intermittent fault there. Though likely less common, maybe a wire inside the dizzy to hall is at fault?

On the 2.1 dizzy I found removing the pin etc. not too hard to do.


Neil.

I made a post elsewhere about how i did this

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1981 Westy DIY 15º ABA
(VW Gas I4)

1988 Westy DIY 50º ABA

VE7TBN

[akmush]

Thanks Neil. I remember reading your post. Wires look fine. Now that you've done it once is it essential to pull distributor?

[t3 kopf]

its safer to pull the distributor so that if you drop the tiny pin or a shim, you wont lose it off in the engine somewhere, never to be found again. it isnt hard to do. just make sure you put all the shims and stuff back in the order it came out. its easy to bend the trigger wheel so if it wont pull off with a little force on both sides, use a little penetrating oil to free it up. if you bend it, it wont work right so dont force it.
or as an alternative vanagain sometimes has rebuilt dizzys for sale with a core exchange if you wanna go that route.
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'90 Carat w/ '95 phase 1 EJ22 OBD2 conversion

[akmush]

NavyVW,

Does my diagnosis sound solid to you?

[seventyfo]

I had the same symptoms, no start with no spark from the coil and injectors not pulsing. Replaced the hall sender and problem solved. In my case the PO had replaced the distributor with a "new German" distributor, however I found it had a ying yang made in china hall sender unit. The slot that the trigger wheel passes through had developed a hairline crack and the contacts inside corroded and finally failed. Fortunately it failed sitting at idle in the parking lot at work.
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85 Vanagon GL Westy GW 2.2 (Rebuilt by YT)


"I don't know you well enough to care about your comments". Watkins Cravey

[akmush]

Any tutorials similar to Pro manual for replacing Hall unit in carb?

[seventyfo]

It'll be much easier if you remove the distributor and replace it on the bench. If you drop the microscopic pin for the trigger wheel it may disappear forever. (BTDT). Scribe a mark on the distributor body and the clamp before you pull and you can put the dizzy right back to the original setting if you can't get it out without pulling it out of the clamp.
_________________
85 Vanagon GL Westy GW 2.2 (Rebuilt by YT)


"I don't know you well enough to care about your comments". Watkins Cravey

[t3 kopf]