Well, the engine bay is fed by a wire coming from the big starter
terminal... the original VW assembly has this wire attached to a large
collar around the starter bolt, but it may pay to take a look. If the
rubber boot around this is rotten, moisture may get in and corrode the
contact. It's worth taking this apart and making sure the starter stud is
clean. Also, inspect the wiring to make sure there are no splices... My
westie came to me with a splice in the engine-bay feed line (added by some
PO or mechanic) that was badly corroded... I discovered this when I
couldn't start the van any more... starter spun fine, but no voltage was
reaching the engine bay.

Tim

At 05:54 PM 12/15/2004 -0500, Jason Willenbrock wrote:
>hey all,
>i have been pretty quiet on the list for a while so 87 syncro must be
>running good right? WRONG!
>today this weird hesitation started.  here's the condition.  it has been
>very wet these last couple of days.  well today westy drives terrible.
>every gear there is major hesitation,like i am running out of gas, but not
>stalling.  i checked my grounds to the fire wall and cleaned them up.  no
>difference.  i check distributor cap and rotor, little on the burned side so
>will replace that tomorrow.  not sure that is the problem though.  every
>once in a while when i do a real good car wash and really spray the under
>side of van, i experience some slight hesitation immediately following the
>wash, but it quickly goes away.  well, like i stated it has been very wet
>here and now the hesitation is real bad. could the starter wiring have
>anything to do with it?  the reason i suggest the starter is because very
>infrquently when i turn the key to start the van, nothing happens for a
>second then all the sudden the starter goes, so it seems to me something
>electrical is wrong.  what should i be looking for?  i am kind of sure it
>has something to do with wet and under the van somehow, but what?  again 87
>syncro westy, serious hesitation.
>i am sure tomorrow after it has dried up the van will run fine, but thats
>not good enough
>TIA
>jason