Tom,
    If you have the cash and the battery has not been
change in the past four or five years I would start
there.   A good battery is an investment in your time,
time now and time in the future.   It is often the
case that a battery when nearing the end of its useful
life will finally give it up when you discharge it too
severely.   Even having 12.8 volts says nothing about
the actual cranking amps.   Test the voltage while you
are cranking and see what it is.   Should drop under a
load.   gary
Date:    Mon, 30 Sep 2002 20:50:03 -0700
From:    Thomas Keefer <tkeefer@SAN.RR.COM>
Subject: Bad Starter??

Hey Volks..
I have a stumper for you. I went out and did some work
the other day
and as
I was doing it I noticed I had left the interior light
on from the
previous
night. Well, it wouldnt start. I jumped it and then
drove around a
bit... I
came back and got cleaned up and then went to dinner
and everything was
fine. After dinner it would not start again and this
time the car
jumping me
and I had a harder time getting it started. Thie
morning (as I was
expecting) it would not start. I checked the battery
voltage and it was
12.8v. I am pretty sure that I am charging properly.
Here is the
thing.. The
starter doesnt seem as if it is as responsive as
before. I had the
exact
same symptoms in an old bus that I  solved by putting
a relay in at the
started to overcome the substantial voltage drop in
the wiring running
from
the ignition and it wirred over like crazy after that.
I done think
that
this would make sense in the van... would it?? Or
could my starter be
toast
(it is the original but in my 5 v-dubs I have not seen
a bad one yet)
Thanks in advance
tOm

__________________________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
New DSL Internet Access from SBC & Yahoo!
http://sbc.yahoo.com