Hiccup while driving thru Canada

[Mathew Zelezen]

Hi all. I ned your help as we drive thru the Canadian wilds.
I'm driving across country in Ontario on our way from Pennsylvania to California and I'm starting to experience what I can only describe as a fuel hiccup when accelrating over 90 kh/hr. It stumbles for a half a second then resumes. Prior to leaving I replaced the AFM and fuel filter (as well as a full tuneup) so I'm currently ruling out the Vanagon Syndrome.
Any ideas of what this might be?

We're on our way (hopefully!) to Serpent River campground so I should be able to dive a little deeper in the next 2 hours.
Thanks!
_________________
87 Syncro Tintop
~Rocky J Motor
~Steedle Trans


Of all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these: It might have been.

[Gruppe B]

Hello,
The owner of the Serpent River Campground may be able to assist somewhat. His name is Garry and was the builder of Vanalong, a stretched Vanagon Camper.

Sorry, I only experienced that once on travels and it may have been a bad tank of Gas. A year later I lost all power over 40km/hr and replaced the tank, filter and pump and the issue never returned.

[0to60in6min]

put in the gas tank a can of SeaFoam or Liqui Moly injector cleaner to see if it help... and check all the vacuum lines for leak.

[Microbusdeluxe]

Vanagon syndrome. https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=674159&highlight=vanagon+syndrome

Varying your speed, i.e. drive like a wacky old man should get you to a repair place and either go cheap with the soldered diode or buy one of these.

http://www.vancafe.com/025906302AAFT_p/025906302aaft.htm
_________________
'69 Squareback RIP
'65 21 window deluxe sold before the price spike, damn it.
'70 rhd bay now a taxi in South Sudan
'81 Westy sold
'89 hightop Westy Joker syncro 16" now with Bostig!

[danfromsyr]

since you asked for any ideas

the fuel pump relay may be getting hot and unlatching for a moment.

the IGN switch may be developing a bad spot.

the O2 sensor may be getting old or providing a vague signal- try unplugging the wire, don't let it short to gnd.
_________________

[E1]

Might be worth running a fuel dryer if it's been awhile — and especially if never done.

Fuel filter clean?
_________________
‘84 Westy, 2.1L with Digijet, 5.43 R+P, GT Gears
"Adding power makes you faster on the straights.
Subtracting weight makes you faster everywhere."
— Colin Chapman

[DanHoug]

it would be good to know if it is truly fuel or maybe electrical. does your tach do anything during the faltering? is it at a specific RPM or is it totally related to road speed? ambient temperature have any effect? each time you hit 90kph or only after running a while? manual or auto? year van?

just finished a wonderful trip across Ontario and back, what a wonderful province. be sure to stop frequently at the 'chip stands', each are different and there's a treasure of one at Schreiber on the north end of Superior.
_________________
-dan
60% of what you find on the internet is wrong, including this post.

'87 Westy & '89 Westy both 2.1 4spd

Past projects can be found at--
www.thefixitworkshop.com

[SurfaceRust]

Check your battery and alternator
I had a very similar problem with my van while traveling. If the battery is bad it will cause a hiccup for a brief moment. You can go to an auto parts store and have it checked for free. I also recommend looking at how old it is. They start to become unreliable after about 5-7 years.

[danfromsyr]

we've also had the wires in the distributor HALL sensor wires chafe and touch lightly causing an occasional momentary sputter..

happens both at the plug and inside from the plug to the sensor.
_________________

[0to60in6min]

check the AFM harness... it should be connected tight with NO tension on it...

[Wildthings]

Double post, delete

[Wildthings]

[Mathew Zelezen]

Hey all!
I really appreciate all your input, it's great having this resource.. especially when traveling.
So I checked out all of the wiring to the Hall Sender, 02 and AFM at the campsite and everything looked nice and tight. In preparation for this trip I made a brand new wire harness for the engine which made a world if difference. The AFM is a rebuild unit with the capacitor I purchased from B.D. that I installed 2 weeks ago and my battery is only a year old.

I don't usually put much merit into products that promise amazing results and like them to that scene from My Big Fat Greek Wedding where the Dad squirts Windex on any ailment.. but I tried the SeaFoam suggestion with a tank of high octane and the hiccup hasn't come back once. Drove all day to Marathon, Ontario and it ran strong.
Groupee B, I ran into Jerry at Serpent River.. nice guy! He sold Vanalong to a fellow in Thunder Bay 2 years ago because he didn't use it as much as he would have liked. And you were right about this stretch of highway. Amazing scenery. Now to find that Chip Shop!

Thanks again everyone for getting us back on the right track!
_________________
87 Syncro Tintop
~Rocky J Motor
~Steedle Trans


Of all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these: It might have been.

[danfromsyr]

just an FYI, if you get the idea to cross the Mackinac bridge
it's $4 each way, https://goo.gl/maps/qPbsMXJUYGR2
and I felt worth it when we went that way last Sept.

there's a historical trading post at the south end of the bridge
https://goo.gl/maps/MgvqQEtUEkJ2
_________________

[0to60in6min]

[Thom and the Flat Rats]

Double check the octane level of the gas you buy. I found out when I drove across Canada that Regular gas is not always 87 which is needed for our vans. Sometimes I needed to use a mid grade gas to get the right octane level.

[Wildthings]

[dobryan]

^^^ Yep, and as you go up in altitude you can also use a lower octane rated gas. Often I see 85 octane offered as regular in the higher elevations (relative to the east coast that is).
_________________
Dave O
'87 Westy w/ 2002 Subaru EJ25 and Peloquin TBD

"To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive." Robert Louis Stevenson

MD>Canada>AK>WA>OR>CA>AZ>UT>WY>SD
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=620646

Building a bus for travel in Europe (euroBus)
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=695371

The Western Syncro build
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=746794

[Spike0180]

[Mellow Yellow 74]

I had a similar hiccup problem and it turned out to be water in the fuel caused by a crack in one of the fuel expansion tanks under the front doors. I have a coarse prefilter on the inlet to the fuel pump and could see the water floating on top of the fuel. I replaced the tank and drained the filter and the problem disappeared.
_________________
1962 Karmann Ghia
1974 Deluxe Microbus
1985 Caravelle (Vanagon)