Well, maybe not so weird to someone who has a clue as to what's going
on with my vanagon, but weird to me.

It's a 90 with 212K miles, nothing ever done to the engine other than
tuneup, head gaskets, alternator, hoses and such.

The car has started with the first click of the key since I bought it
new.

Recently it's started to get cold around here (mildly cold, down to
30s and tonight, 20s). Since the cool weather began, the car has been
idling high while cold (1200-1500 rpm) until fully warm, and even
then sometimes a bit high.

When the engine is cold, at first the tach needle "hunts" up and down
between about 750 and about 1300.

I drove the car 20 miles out of town this morning and it sat all day.
I came back at dark to drive home, and it wouldn't start. I tried
about ten times, each time just a few turns. I tried to hear if the
fuel pump (it's only a year old) was coming on, but the stupid chimes
were so loud I couldn't.

On the tenth or eleventh time it started and ran great--except that
when I abruptly took my foot off the gas to take a ramp onto a
different freeway, the tach, dashlights and engine died for a
fraction of a second, then came back on and I continued to drive home
without event, taking another ramp or two on the way with no such
problem.

Ignition switch? Temp sensor?

Any opinions will be appreciated.

Thanks,

Jim