You have to determine why it is not starting.  When it throws the fit,
try checking for spark by pulling a spark plug out, and having someone
hold it against the engine while you crank over the motor.  If you have
no spark then it could be the coil, hall sensor or ECU (or a broken wire
but probably not).

Do you smell fuel after it won't crank?  If it has spark then pull the
injectors to see if they are squirting (be sure to remove the plug wire
on the top of the distributor cap and ground it so the van won't try to
fire while doing this).

If they are working then you only have four other things to check:
intake- check to see that there is no blockage of the intake.
exhaust- put your hand near the exhaust pipe while someone cranks it
over and see if you feel exhaust coming out.
compression- get a compression tester and see what the numbers are.
timing- the last thing I would mess with because it does start some times.

I hope this helps.  If you want you can give me a call at 856-327-4936
tomorrow and I'll try to walk you through the troubleshooting.

Sincerely,
Ken Wilford
John 3:16
www.vanagain.com

Barrett Willet wrote:

> '88 2.1L
> More of the same this weekend.  Intermittent case of the "No-Starts".
> This is now the 3rd camping trip I've had to cancel because of the van.
> Friday morning it didn't start on the first 2 tries and then starts up.
>  Stopped to get gas and no problems with starting.  Trying to leave
> work that afternoon and it wouldn't start.
>
> It's cranking fine and the tach is moving to about 1000 when cranking.
> I believe this is an indicator that the Hall Sensor is working.  Can
> anyone confirm?
>
> It actually does catch but idles like its getting combustion only once
> a second. Blump,(1sec) blump,(1sec) blump.  Tach barely hops during
> this.  Does not get any better if I press the gas and eventually dies
> after about 10 sec.
>
> I'm stumped at this point and any help would be appreciated.
>
> Thanks
> Barrett Willet
> '88 Wolfsburg
>