voltage not getting to starter, ground problem??

[chachi]

starting has been a little hesitant lately, like...turn the key, little pause and then it sort of stumbles a half sec and then starts. also had some weirdness where the battery was measuring fine but the voltage at the panel was low. so i wasn’t too surprised when finally i couldn’t get it to start today. battery terminals measure at 12.6v but voltage measured at the big terminal on the starter measures at like .8v. so i checked the big cable from the + to the starter and it has continuity. the ground straps at the battery, the engine compartment left and at the transmission are clean and have continuity.

i thought that i would just string a jumper cable from the battery to the big starter terminal but if i do that it still measures low. if i connect the jumper cable to the battery + and test the voltage at other end of the cable i get 12.6v if i use the battery - terminal. if i use any usual ground point on the car, like a screw head or the transmission ground strap, i get like .8v.

i feel like i have a ground problem but i don’t know where. thanks for any help!
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'74 transporter panel
'91 vanagon carat NAHT

[dhaavers]

Did you actually PULL the battery & clean the ground connection to frame at the bottom of the battery box?

I'll give you a dollar if that's not it...

- Dave
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86 White Wolfsburg Westy Weekender
"The WonderVan"
<EDITED TO PROTECT INNOCENT PIXELS>

[Wildthings]

The starter needs a good ground connection to the bellhousing. Time, salt corrosion, and paint may all keep that from happening.

If you have12.6 volts at the battery when the key is in the "start" position, that voltage is not going to disappear, it will show up as a voltage drop somewhere when tracing from the positive post on the battery through the cables, engine-tranny combination, and back to the negative post.

[E1]

$2!
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‘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

[crazyvwvanman]

[Vanagon Nut]

On my '81, I recently went through a similar issue though I didn't measure voltage at starter when it happened.

If you have a negative battery clamp as shown below, check that the battery box ground strap is clean and tight to that clamp. (a poor connection between clamp and battery can happen too)

AFAIK, the issue I experienced was between the battery box negative braided copper strap and the negative clamp at battery post; the braided strap may've been too small for the clamp, and, the bolts holding that connection together may have been slightly loose. So, when the load was applied, that fault would show up.

Neil.

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1981 Westy DIY 15º ABA

1988 West DIY 50º ABA

VE7TBN

[jlrftype7]

[Vanagon Nut]

[Wildthings]

What I did on my daughter's Jeep when the cable ends got corroded was to buy jumper wire for a 24v two battery setup. The jumper has a negative cable terminal on one end and and a positive cable terminal on the other. I cut the jumper in two and then using split bolt clamps sliced the appropriate end from the jumper onto each of her battery cables.

One could do the same for the positive cable on a Vanagon, while just flat out replacing the negative strap is the way to go.

[DuncanS]

Why not just buy a brand new negative battery clamp setup which has the eye terminal at the other end? Corrosion and being stuck in the middle off nowhere isn't worth the $15 difference in jury rigging something and the tight piece of gear.

Continuity is bare worth bothering with in a case of high amperage. If you're seeing .8 volts then either there is a short to something else and no real continuity at all or you have a batch of resistance as a result of an electrical failure somewhere in the system. A 98% broken wire, poor conductance because of corrosion or a failed internal connection. Vanagons, unlike 'Merica which reportedly runs on Dunkin, run on ground connections. And there are gillions of of them every where. The guys are right. Once you get a decent feed to the eye terminal on the battery ground strap, clean the hell out of the body connection. Then crawl underneath and clean the hell out of the ground strap from the body and the tranny. Take them off and even consider a brand new strap here as well. I reassembling everything--dielectric grease. Road crud and salt can eat a well cleaned connection in no time. Don't skimp.

[chachi]

alrighty well thanks everybody. t’was the battery ground strap indeed. i had removed it and screwed it back on to the battery terminal 50 times troubleshooting but i had never actually removed the body end. strap is relatively recent but a cleaning and a file or two freshened it up. why do these things never occur to me on the ground in the Fred Meyer parking lot?
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'74 transporter panel
'91 vanagon carat NAHT

[dhaavers]

^^^ Congrats...nice detective work! ... Plus, I already saved myself a dollar today...

PLEASE say you also greased the clean connection...??? As Duncan said, your work won't last long without it...

Whoever OK'd the design of that battery ground connection, with the tail end of the bolt sticking out under the van
right behind the tire to get saturated every time it rains, plus coated with every bit of dirt, mud, grit &/or salt you
drive through, not to mention an occasional dose of battery acid &/or electrolytic corrosion...[but all you have to do
is A) move the seat, B) remove 4 screws, C) disconnect every cable, D) find your battery puller & E) dead lift 50
pounds out of the hole, in order to... F) finally be able to inspect/clean/replace the connector...] ...should be SHOT.

I was initiated years ago when installing an adapter for trailer lights & couldn't get anything to blink with only 11.5v
at the connector. All other grounds previously renewed & tight. Worked around by installing LED bulbs in the trailer,
but later discovered the F'n crappy condition of that battery ground connection while doing some other work.

Now I have full battery voltage throughout the van...

IOW, I'm only a few years & barely ahead of you...Anyway, rock on!

- Dave
_________________
86 White Wolfsburg Westy Weekender
"The WonderVan"
<EDITED TO PROTECT INNOCENT PIXELS>

[DuncanS]

Hmmmm----'tsbeen a fair number of years since I last did it. Guess I'll take allbodies and my own advice and the Indian summer weather before the coated with every bit of dirt, mud, grit &/or salt you
drive through, crud starts to happen. The underneath tranny and body connections were dielectric coated, but New Hampshire winters............and our town has a no snow policy such that 24 hours after a 15" snowfall, the roads are bare!! Dry and bare--Did I say DRY. That only happens if chemicals that our electrical systems hate gets piled on thick and often.