When you were checking the wiring at idle did you wiggle the three wires
that feed the distributor?  Its a common point for intermittent failure,
right inside the insulating jacket.

On Tue, Aug 19, 2008 at 8:54 AM, James Ballen <jamosb78@yahoo.com> wrote:

> Hey folks,
>
> Now I know there are several reasons that this could be happening...and am
> trying to narrow down the possibilities.
>
> Here's the deal:
>
> '86 westy weekender with a rebuilt 2.1 WBX, ~40k miles on it.
> Have had very few issues with it until today. We drove it about 75
> miles yesterday on the freeway and on some curvy, hilly roads. It ran
> great.
>
> Today coming back on those hilly, curvy, sometimes bumpy roads it
> started to cut out when accelerating...causing the van to buck a
> little. It started to do it more frequently, happening probably 15
> times in as many miles. Gas was getting low, we filled up and I wanted
> to determine if problem was still there. Still happening, almost
> stalled at idle twice, but always catching itself and continuing to run.
>
> I checked out the engine bay, and found a small brown, ground wire that
> had some deterioration in the jacket...it was sitting on the block and
> was pretty hot. I zip-tied it up to a hose to keep it cooler, and while I
> was doubtful this was the culprit, I did it anyway. Couldn't find
> anything else that looked off...so we continued on. I'd say in the 50
> or so miles after that, it happened 3 to 4 times...seeming to
> correspond with a bump in the freeway, although it could be a
> coincidence.
>
> We made it home and after unloading the van. I poked around, moving
> all wires I could get to while the motor was idling, hoping to find one
> that caused the problem. Nada. Couldn't make it happen.
>
> So...when it happens:
>
> -the engine and tach die, but it never lasts long enough for the tach to
> fall all the way down.
> -almost always while accelerating, never with my foot off the gas.
> -engine never completely died, and always started right up after I did shut
> it off.
>
> I thought it might be "vanagon syndrome", but since it happened at idle, I
> think that's ruled out, no?
>
> I thought it might be a fuel filter issue, and I think I'll replace it
> anyway.
>
> I thought it might be a ground wire issue, but can't find any
> obvious problems besides the one I described...which I'll be splicing a
> section of new wire into soon.
>
> What else should I be looking for?
>

--
Jake
1984 Vanagon GL
1986 Westy Weekender "Dixie"
Crescent Beach, BC
www.crescentbeachguitar.com
http://subyjake.googlepages.com/mydixiedarlin%27