Hey  Al,

Did you not hang the entrails on the door? ;-)

Nearly always works!!

John Rodgers
88 GL Driver

Al Knoll wrote:
> It's a 1989 SinghCrow  with a subaru OBD1 engine management system.  Last
> year at Mastercraft Motors, it was noticed that a code for bad starter
> voltage was set although the starter worked just fine while
> troubleshooting a different OxySensor problem.
>
> Curious, eh?  Cleared the code an moved on.  Bimeby I installed the
> excellent Westyventures starter upgrade.    Worked fine, cranked fine, never
> failed until a trip to the eastern sierra back country.  Then once, it
> failed to turn over.   Second try, just fine.  Later in the trip it happened
> again and this time it took three tries to crank it.   Drove home from the
> fine excursion parking on downhills and having to use momentum starting
> twice.  Got back, parked the van.  Next day, started fine.  I turned it off
> and tried a restart.  Nada, no click, nothing but a dip in the measured
> battery voltage.  Subsequent attempts ended in miserable failures.  Strong
> language administered in both fractured Deutche and shattered Kanji, no
> result.  Feathers, bones, chants...the usual stuff, no go.
>
> Consulted the muses and guruses, learned lots.  Tested the ignition switch,
> fine.  12V right where it should be.  Checked at the starter solenoid
> (relay) input  ~10 V about what it should be if there was a current draw
> elsewhere.   Hooked up the remote starter switch.   Zoom - Zoom.  So what
> could it be?  Voltages seemed normal around the circuitry.  Perhaps a weak
> battery?   Charged it to 13.5 float still no zumzum.   Also NO CODE set.
> (for those with Digijet/fant, codes are a step up from the vanagon ECU) .
> Out and under (plenty of shade there) and physically trace the red/black
> wire up to the front of the beast.  No apparent melting, phlogistical traces
> or even questionable insulation found.  (NTF).  So now to trace from the
> pull off connector  at the ignition lock/switch.  First do the jumper bit
> just to be sure.  Enough current is drawn through the steel jumper that it
> warms to the touch.
>
> Visually following the red/black behind the relay panel we come upon a
> curious CRIMP connector.   Now Hans and Fritz and Dieter dont use yellow
> crimp connectors so it must be aftermarket, but why the no start.
>
> 11 years ago at the advice of my Ins Co, I had an alarm system installed
> that has an ignition disable feature.  The details are that the solenoid
> drive current passes through a normally closed when not armed, relay
> contact, now 11 years and 100K+ miles old.  This relay (Potter and
> Brumfield) not your average ChiCom substitute was tucked up out of sight
> above the relay panel  I fetched it out and took a look at it externally no
> visible defect.   Plugged it back in and ... Zoom Zoom!  Hmmm.  Second try,
> no zumzum.  Called up the fine folks at Rocky Mt. Window tint (David
> (pieface) is the owner).  Explained the symptom and he offered two spare
> relays and mentioned that I must have forgotten to replace the relay after
> the recommended 50Kmi.  Sheepishly I promised to do better in the future,
> installed the replacement relay and ZOOM ZOOM ZOOM.  Kept the suspect relay
> to be examined at leisure.
>
> Here's the failure scenario:  The contacts degrade with corrosion over time
> and eventually fail intermittantly by not passing sufficent current  to
> activate the solenoid.   If you don't know about the mystery circuit you
> don't know where to search for the defect and end up with feathers, bones,
> chanting and so on and lack of zumzum.
>
> So if you have one of these recommended by your InsCo ignition disablers
> installed, check with the provider to see how it works and what components
> were added AND where they're physically located so when the day comes that
> your starting is inhibited by old age, decrepitation, entropy and corrosion
> you'll have a chance to fix the problem.  Oh yeah, update the current
> path/schematic diagrams to include the extra circuitry and carry a spare
> whatever.
>
> Pensionerd , Got Zum!
>
>
>