Hi listees, I"ve been off the list for awhile, but I'm back now.

My 85 Westy has been suffering from the 'slow to crank when hot' problem.
When the engine is warm I would be able to start the van when it was cold,
then it was more difficult when it was hot. As I turn the key to the start
on position, the accessories and lights activate, the fuel pump primes, but
when turned to the start position, everything goes dead, sometimes a slow
start, sometimes not. No power, nothing. It got worse this past year to the
point it wouldn't start at all when the key was turned. I had my wife turn
the key while I tapped on the solenoid with a length of a wooden dowel. That
would make it start. It worked for awhile (a few weeks), then got more and
more difficult to start again. Finally, I was back to not being able to
start the van at all, even with the solenoid-stick-tapping. (By the way,
when the hard-starting began, I thought the problem was originally a bad
starter/solenoid, so I bought a remanufactured one from Ron Salmon at The
Bus Depot and put it in but that didn't help).

I took the advice found in some of the Listserv archives about cleaning the
contacts of the grounding cables (battery, tranny to chassis, etc..). When
this didn't make a difference, I added additional grounding straps between
the tranny & chassis as well as between the starter housing and chassis.
I've cleaned every positive connection I can think of, too. This didn't work
either. (Maybe I've missed one).

Hmmm, I thought about it a lot more, scratched my head, kicked the tires and
then found the article in the list archives about introducing a relay
between the solenoid and starter switch. So, I rolled up my sleeves (after
reading the article about a dozen times) and put the relay in one Sunday
afternoon. Over the course of about 2 or 3 weeks, it started on its own
about 2 or 3 times, then I had to start using the stick on the solenoid
again, now (three weeks later) it won't start at all, even with tapping the
solenoid.

Alright, so I'm suspecting there's a dirty ground still someplace that I've
missed? Or, maybe I didn't install the relay correctly. Perhaps the solenoid
is bad from the box (or I've damaged the solenoid from too much tapping). I
thought thought the battery might have a bad cell. Did a load test (it
failed to hold a charge) so I put a new battery in. Same results. I'm kinda
at my wits end. I determined not to give up, but I'm not sure what to do
next. I was thinking of pulling the starter/relay out and taking it to the
local Trak Auto where they test starters, but I think that's really a long
shot. I've got an alarm system in the vehicle (Hornet, buy DSS), but that
hasn't seem to be a factor that I can tell.

I'd rather not turn my van (almost like a family member) over to a shop and
say "fix it" (besides the price associated with it). Does anyone have any
experience with this? What should I try next? Is there a way to test the
individual sections of the ignition/starting system? I"m getting desparate
as the spring/summer approaches (plus this may be my only vehicle pretty
soon). Any advice/help would is appreciated.

Thanks, -Gregg  (GREAT, but imobile, 85 Westy!)

Gregg B. Carlen
CRT Project Manager
gregg.carlen@dyncorp.com
202-347-6665
202-347-7577 fax