To all my fellow mechanically challenged Vanagon owners:

I have been experiencing an intermittent power loss, generally on hills.
Even low grades could be a challenge.   The power loss was coupled with an
intermittent problem with a discharged battery.  For the life of me I could
not diagnosis the problem.  The guys at the battery shop gave me two
batteries, thinking they had sold me a dud the first time around.  My
regular mechanic installed a new alternator.

I could always jump start the van when the battery went dead,, Until last
week.  She died and when I went to jump start it, there was nothing coming
from the starter.

I wrongly assumed I had done on the starter motor.  On looking at the
Bentley trouble shooting guide to starters, I came across the ground strap
that runs from the tranny to the frame.  Upon crawling under the van,  I
learned the nut that secures the ground wire to the frame was gone.  A quick
trip to a nearby hardware store provided a replacement, the van cranked
right up, and has not had so much power in years.

The morale of the story for me, was to be mindful of the "little" things,
like a missing nut and a loose wire.

I've seen descriptions of similar problems on the list,  If yours is still
looking for solutions, you might want to begin checking all the grounds....

I hope this is helpful and does not engender too much ridicule form those of
you with a clue about the magical working of the internal combustion
engine..

Christopher Irvin
Eagle River Alaska

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