The problem on my 1.9 in my '85 was the lead from the O2 sensor. With it hanging
there, in the spray area from that rear wheel, it gets treated to a forced
shower constantly. Most vans no longer have the sheet metal shield that kept the
worst of the spray effects down. And, no matter how good a job you did on that
co-ax lead, its gonna get wet. Good routing , and careful sealing are all you
can do. The advice with the selective spraying of WD 40 will certainly pinpoint
the culprit....

________________________________
From: Jeff Lincoln <magikvw@GMAIL.COM>
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Sent: Sat, January 22, 2011 6:10:08 PM
Subject: 1.9 Running issues when wet out

OK, I've been dealing with this for some time now. When it rains (snow
doesn't seem to bother it) a medium to hard rain I can get about 15-20
minutes down the road before rough running and eventually the engine just
dies out.

Cap, rotor, plug wires are all new. New Temp Sensor too (because previous
diagnostics had proven it was a bit wonky).

Everything in my gut tells me this is an electrical issue but I don't know
for sure and even if I did I don't know where to start.

When this happens if I let the bus sit for a day I can get it running again
- but it takes a lot of messing with it - it will not idle at first, then it
will run rough and stall - each attempt getting longer and longer until
eventually I am able to keep it running and it recovers and runs fine. One
other thing during the rough running period (when the problem starts and
after it has sat and I am trying to get it going again) is that if I give it
any gas at all it will stall immediately - eventually of course it is fine.

I suspect by the way it acts after it has sat that it eventually gets better
becuase whatever is wet is drying off more and more. Then again I don't
really know anything.

Any advice at all pointing me in ANY direction at this point is welcome.

--
Thanks,

Jeff
'85 GL (Gertie)
'90 Carat (Grover - the noble parts donor)
'86 (We call this one Scrap)
'78 Bus (Melissa) Patty's Bus