John,
Here's the lowdown on the capacitor fix. May be worth a try:
http://www.vanagonauts.com/Capacitor-Fix160.htm

John Meeks
'91 Vanagon MV
Northern Michigan

Vanagon Rescue Squad
www.vanagonauts.com

On Mon, Dec 27, 2010 at 3:46 PM, John Rodgers <inua@charter.net> wrote:

>  Volks,
>
> I have a general Vanagon troubleshooting question - today driving home
> from an enjoyable Christmas gathering with all my family,   the van
> engine started twitching - a little skip at first, then as the miles
> rolled it got worse and worse. I was sweating getting home in all that
> snow and rain and raw weather we were having, and sure as heck didn't
> want to stall out and spend time on the side of the road in that
> weather. I managed to make it off I-65 at the southern exit onto Shelby
> Co 25 on towards Columbiana. By the time I got to the last hill just
> outside town - I was down to about 10 miles an hour, and coasted down
> that hill into town to the main stoplight. The plan was to go through
> the light on green, and pull over in a BigBox store parking lot. Didn't
> get the chance. Light changed, and the engine stalled. I turned off the
> wipers, the heater fans, and the head lights, shut off the ignition, and
> then hit the switch again. She fired right up, purring like a kitten. No
> more trouble......... until well up the road. Same thing over again.
> Just a little twitchy at first, then got progressively rough. This time,
> while coasting, I turned the switch off, and back on. The engine cleared
> it throat, and purred like a kitten. Did it twice more before I got home.
>
> So - what could be happening that turning the ignition off and back on,
> results in temporary clearing the problems. At first I thought fuel,
> then some king of ignition trouble, then an electrical fault for sure.
> Electronics somehow.
>
> Any ideas??
>
> Thanks,
>
> John
>
> --
> John Rodgers
> Clayartist and Moldmaker
> 88'GL VW Bus Driver
> Chelsea, AL
> Http://www.moldhaus.com
>