Be careful with the old Heathkit VTVMs.  Probes were two position with a
plastic piece at end of probe that changed from DC volts to AC/OHM.  DC
position puts a resistor in circuit so as not to put load on circuit being
measured.

John
----- Original Message -----
From: "Larry Alofs" <lalofs@GMAIL.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Thursday, October 18, 2007 9:00 AM
Subject: Re: Running rich.....me too

> The meter should read close to 0 ohms when you touch the probes together.
> If it doesn't you need to figure out why.
>   It sounds like you have an analog type meter with a needle.  It would
> have a battery or two which are needed only for the resistance range(s).
> If
> the meter was obtained a long time ago, the batteries are probably dead.
> They are not needed for voltage and current measurements on an analog
> meter.
>
> Larry A.
>
>
> On 10/18/07, Eastman, Cecil @ ELM <Eastman.C@atwoodmobile.com> wrote:
>>
>> I tried to test the switch last night with a Heathkit multitester that I
>> got
>> a long time ago from a friend.  I got no readings whatsoever:  the
>> ohm-meter
>> never moved off of the infinity end of the scale no matter how much I
>> moved
>> the throttle switch around.  I also tried messing with the knobs on the
>> tester but to no avail.  I thought this kind of test was supposed to be
>> easy.  Am I (still) doing something wrong here?
>>
>> I know the bus is running rich because I've removed the plugs a couple of
>> times to clean them and yes, they were very black.  And while I didn't
>> get
>> complete satisfaction from the mechanics, they did what I asked them to
>> do
>> and that was to get the thing running.  You're right: they chose the
>> low-hanging fruit, but at least it was cheap stuff and they didn't do any
>> harm by going into stuff for which they had no experience.  I use these
>> guys
>> for our "normal" car and they do well enough.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf
>> Of
>> Geza Polony
>> Sent: Wednesday, October 17, 2007 9:29 PM
>> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
>> Subject: Re: Running rich.....me too
>>
>> You have other things to consider. But first, what makes you think it's
>> running rich? You don't say.
>>
>> Replacing the plugs, rotor, etc. will never cure a running rich problem.
>> Shops do this because it's the easiest thing they can imagine besides
>> giving
>> it a tire polish. Puts money in the till, but not much more.
>> Careful--next
>> they'll want to replace the ECU, another easy one that almost never
>> solves
>> any problems.
>>
>> What you should really be paying for is a mechanic with diagnostic
>> abilities.
>>