When you noticed the problem a month ago, was it 100 degrees out?
(i.e. same conditons as last Wed.)

I only had vapour lock happen a few times on a 62 Chevy Belair. I just
pulled over til things cooled off.

I don't know if this is the "adapter" the mechanic spoke of, but there
are antistatic strips that can be installed on a given vehicle. They
hang from the vehicle (from frame I assume) and contact the ground
when car comes to a stop. You may have seen them hanging from a Honda
Toyota etc. My understanding is that some types of tires build up a
lot of static charge.

Regards,

Neil.

On 7/22/07, Paul Chubbuck <paul@takingflight.net> wrote:
> Mine is a 1982 Vanagon, originally diesel with a conversion to a rabbit
> engine from about 1985.
>
> Do these symptoms ring a familiar bell to someone knowledgeable on this
> list?
>
> Last Wednesday I took off at 3 PM intending to drive about 500 miles.  It
> was about 100 degrees out.  After a short time, I noticed a frequent,
> partial loss of power, much as if I had suddenly backed my foot partway off
> the accelerator.  When I had to stop, the engine died unless I kept the
> engine RPM's up.  Both problems became worse, so I limped my way back 35
> miles to my mechanic right at quitting time.  I also noticed that when
> stopped and holding the engine above normal idle (to avoid stalling) that I
> could hear the fuel pump cycling every few seconds between high and low rpm.
> When it reached the low end of the cycle, the engine would almost stall, and
> then pick up again as the fuel pump took off.
>
> I suspected a bad fuel pump but my mechanic wasn't convinced it was so
> simple and I'm not a mechanic.  The next day was cooler and he has so far
> not been able to repeat the problem.
>
> A VW mechanic friend told me about a static electricity problem with this
> engine series that might cause such symptoms and could be corrected with
> some kind of an adaptor.  I found a reference to this problem in the
> archives, although not much detail.  My friend also thought that the high
> temperatures could be causing vapor lock.  If it's that, I don't know how to
> confirm or resolve it.
>
> I should say that I first noticed this unsteady power problem more than a
> month ago, but then it was infrequent and subtle, so I let it go.  But last
> Wednesday it wasn't sure I was going to be able to make it home, never mind
> my intended trip across the hot plains of Eastern Colorado and Kansas.
>
> I appreciate any help.
>
> Thanks,
> Paul in Fort Collins
>

--
Neil Nicholson. 1981 Air Cooled Westfalia.

http://web.mac.com/tubaneil