Tim - I've had an '88 Westy for 4-5 years now and when I first got it,
it would consistently die on me at a point about 5 minutes after I
cranked it up - usually at a stop light.  But I could immediately just
start it back up.  By the time I got through the 5-7 minutes of
running, it never misbehaved.  I suspected some electrical connection
that was going through some thermal cycle.

The good news is that that problem went away before I could ever find
the time to look for the problem.  Well in the past month or so, it
seems that the problem has returned.  It seems to follow a similar
pattern related to temperature and the length of time since I started
from a cold engine state, but it has always just persisted for a short
time and cleared up.

Is yours the same kind of problem?  If it always starts up again right
away, maybe.  Checking electrical connections in the engine
compartment is the simplest activity that might help.

John Graham
88 Westy with 139K miles
Charlotte, NC

On 5/24/05, Tim Kasher <sade75@earthlink.net> wrote:
> Well I have only had my 91 carat for about a month now...man is it great!..I must say though I have become quite the paranoid freak now always looking down at the temp light...the back of the windshield, etc.
> 
> I dont think the Van likes Banks....My first scare was when I was in the bank line the Van quit running...tried to turn it over but no luck...My thought was I cant be out of gas but I was...Ok dont trust the gauge.
> 
> Next time about a week later I am in line and the Van just shuts off...this is on the hottest days of the year down here in Sunny FL.
> I say it can be the mileage, only 160 on odometer....so I do a quick prayer and boom, turned right over....but I turned my radio and AC off.
> 
> Any ideas on the instant shut off...no warning or anything.
> 
> Thanks in advance
> 
> Tim
>