Cranks but no start! Long story.

[MarkWard]

Just returned from across country trip to Colorado from Florida. We were at the top of Black Rock Canyon returning from a hike. Altitude 8600 feet and temp was dropping to freezing at the end of afternoon. We had a campsite for the night bellow in the campground.

Went to start the van. Instead of jumping to life, the engine was just cranking. Tried multiple times. No indication at first what was wrong. Dragged out the laptop to connect to the ECU. Connected successfully and van started like always.

Thank goodness. Troubleshooting in the parking lot with cars on both sides and weather closing in was not an option yet.

Got down to our site and level, shut the engine off. Attempted to restart. Cranks and Nothing. I did notice the glow plug light and the check engine light were not coming on with the key. Dash indicator lights working fine. The TDI ECU operates the CEL and glow plug light. The gears in my head were running all night. Decided if it started we’d drive down to Melrose and find a spot to start trouble shooting in a NAPA parking lot. I carry a backup ECU.

Next morning after a few tries, van started. So, intermittent problem still there. Got down to town ready to troubleshoot. Then a light came on in my brain. I turned off my “secret” kill switch and turned the key on. No glow plug or CEL. No start. Turned the kill switch back on. Everything normal and van starts.

So, I had not taken the advice I spew here. I was so concerned about not having a kill switch I wired to an abandoned toggle switch from my Yandina days. Even though it only has the holding coil load of my ignition relay, it seems it was failing. Cheap Chinese junk again. Fortunately I did leave the original relay ground installed. I was able to quickly disconnect the switch at the relay and connect my original ground wire. Minus the time to get the engine cover off

Van started every time after. So, I’m still a proponent of adding a hidden kill switch. For quickly pinpointing a problem to the switch, an LED bulb wired so if the switch fails you have a visual cue. Fairly straightforward to wire one. It’s also a good idea to have the switch easily bypassed. Because, your switch if it fails, will fail at the least opportune time. I will be installing a new quality toggle switch like I always recommend and remember to pay attention to my CEL and glow plug light in the future.
_________________
☮️

[RawUmber]

As useful as a kill switch can be, that's the drawback of introducing a potential point of failure into an essential link. Good of you to plan ahead for easy bypass.

[crazyvwvanman]

I can recall 3 dead Vanagons I helped get going where the problem turned out to be kill switches.

One was a bad switch.
One was a forgotten switch that somehow got bumped.
One was an unknown kill switch hidden by the PO inside the closet and on a very rough road something moved around and hit the switch.

2 of the vans above involved a tow when it wouldn't start.

Mark

[MarkWard]

When the van wouldn’t start, panic started to set in. It was almost worse case scenario. Panic gets in the way of clear thinking and troubleshooting. I know our van inside and out. Yet here I was just like every member who posts for help. Like there aren’t enough points of failure to add one more. But returning from a hike and finding no van would be real panic. Technically the switch thwarted me a knowledgeable tech. Should prevent a crack head from grabbing it easily. Just need better quality switch.
_________________
☮️

[ALIKA T3]

Interesting story.

I've had similar experiences with a reverse light switch and an ignition switch, a d starter relay.

Reverse switch tested good with a multimeter on ringer mode.
No lights. Bad switch.

Ignition switch cutting the ignition upon cranking. Anogher one just not working at all, straight out the box.

Starter relay closing but not sending enough juice, tested OK with the multimeter.
I gutted out the chinese sealed relay and dropped in a VW 40A relay from an old Vanagon parts donor. Never had a problem since then.

Everything is shit these days in magnitudes greater than we can always think. It's tiresome. I can't imagine the occasional Vanagon camper going through troubleshooting these kind of BS on the side of the road during their vacations....
_________________
Silicone Steering Boots and 930 Cv boots for sale in the classifieds.
Syncro transmission upgrade parts in the Classifieds.
Subaru EJ22+UN1 5 speed transmission
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=416343
Syncro http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4...num+gadget

[1988M5]

How about a simple switch to interrupt the 12V ignition coil (male spade to female to male then female for easy undoing) switch mounted over the incense plate area? Use hot pink wiring to remind yourself of it if it takes a poop. Taking the engine cover off is a bit of a pain, so the old school way of taking the rotor off isn’t practical.
_________________
1991 tin top GL
2002 Winnebago Vista. VW VR6 24V Eurovan front clip powered class C 21' RV.
Some BMWs.