I'm reasonably certain the grounds are at least OK.  Since I just replaced
the engine and the starter the grounds had to have been redone, should have
cleaned them up.

Mike

> From: Bill Marshall <Willolyn99@AOL.COM>
> Reply-To: Willolyn99@AOL.COM
> Date: Tue, 18 Jun 2002 08:25:43 EDT
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Re: Starter hesitation
>
> <<<<...you should check all the ground wires and
> make sure they are not corroded. There was also a recall from Volkswagen to
> add a ground wire (for what years??).>>>
>
> I had this same problem.  Crappy ground strap on the driver side of the
> engine, corroded connections at the front of the tranny.  My starter was
> trying to pull the ground through my exhaust, where it was wired to the frame
> with a coathanger.  (note: a coathanger is a tool of last resort, only used
> for emergencies)  Coathanger got hot and burned me, that's how I figured it
> out.
>
> I cleaned all the contacts, then decided the ground straps were really crappy
> looking, so I added a big fat wire straight from the battery to the front of
> the tranny.  It was big, like 4 gauge, the same as you use for the battery
> terminals.  I coated everything with dielectric grease, and cranked that
> puppy down.  The wire was just snaked through the hole in the bottom of the
> battery tray, over the gas tank, along the frame, beside the coolant hoses.
> Held up with zip ties. Attached to the battery using the screw for the
> terminal.
>
> Bill Marshall
> 85 GL Tiico with no more coathanger
>