Nice to read about someone who really gets the value and magic of WD-40.
Don't leave home without it !

If I had to choose only TWO products to use for working on and treating
things on  cars, WD-40 would be one of them.
heck..for really severe cases perhaps a cockpit actuated system that mists
down the entire engine compartment !

just joking .
But the stuff is magic.
Scott

----- Original Message -----
From: "craig cowan" <phishman068@GMAIL.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Saturday, January 22, 2011 7:01 PM
Subject: Re: 1.9 Running issues when wet out

> Jeff remember when we met in Grand Rapids in a rain storm for the first
> time, and I limped in getting 8mpg....
> It only did that when it rained. (That was a 1.9).
> NEW COMPONENTS CAN FAIL. JUST BECAUSE SOMETHING IS NEW DOES NOT MEAN
> YOU'VE
> FIXED A PROBLEM!!!
> My bet is the wire from the oxygen sensor. This is a shielded wire.
>
> My issue was associated with a few small exhaust leaks, and NEW cap/wires
> that were not up to snuff.
> Replacements fixed it.
> (They were about a month old, with maybe 100 miles on them. Clearly
> defective).
>
> Spray the crap out of everything with WD40 before it rains. If that fixes
> it, you have an electrical problem. Now spray only select areas. In my
> case
> I made it 500 miles home stopping every 100 miles to spray the distributor
> with WD40. It worked.
>
> -Craig
> '85GL turned WESTY
> BOSTIG in the back
> '87 SUNROOF Syncro
>
>
> On Sat, Jan 22, 2011 at 7:17 PM, Scott Daniel - Turbovans <
> scottdaniel@turbovans.com> wrote:
>
>> Have you inspected and cleaned ALL fuel injection connectors and grounds,
>> including ecu ?
>>
>> are you sure you AFM is plugged in ?
>> try it with 02 sensor disconnected.
>> wiggle wires, esp. at distributor while it's idling properly.
>>
>> if you don't know that the idle switch is making contact at idle ( and
>> signal is getting to ecu )
>> *all bets are off* ...
>> same for timing not being too advanced.
>>
>> how do you know the spark plugs are firing properly cold ?
>> if you don't test for that ..
>> you know ?
>>
>> sounds like you are on the right track thinking it could be electrical
>> weakness..
>> go direction to pursue.
>>
>> try to think of ways to check for missing or blocked electrons. Don't
>> think
>> 'part' so much ..think what can I find that is missing ?
>> for example....you can buy a little inductive light thing ...very
>> inexpensively, that flashes when held next to a spark plug wire.
>> you just run it down the whole length of each plug wire while running
>> ...sometimes that reveals something.
>>
>> and ...people to get all into 'it's electrical or fuel injection' when
>> the
>> fuel filter is near clogged, the fuel tank may be full of junk, fuel pump
>> is
>> weak etc..
>> so don't automatically dismiss that unless you have seen consistent fuel
>> pressure with a gauge for a while and you know the fuel filter is good.
>> need to know fuel press regulator is working right too..
>> oh ..and that injector spray pattern is good. Each and every adjustment,
>> spec, and sensor and device needs to be checked until you find 'it' or
>> usually 'them' ..typically it's 4 half not right things, and one really
>> not
>> right thing, or more.
>>
>> test the fuel itself .  Many techs overlook that. Water in fuel can look
>> real weird in terms of poor running .
>> and in winter that's more likely.
>>
>> and you really should have a known good distributor, AFM, ECU, fuel pump,
>> etc for swap-testing.
>> Especially ...inspect, clean, treat, wiggle .  Half the vans I fix I find
>> timing too advanced., idle switch not making contact, 02 sensor iffy ..
>> I
>> also only use bosch cap and rotor ...they last indefinitely.
>> Doubt it's the coil..but a typical 85 vanagon has 25 year old original
>> coil
>> on it.
>> Doubt it's clogged cat or muff..always need to consider that.  You have
>> to
>> check every spec. for everything to do with running of the engine.
>>
>>
>>
>> Scott
>> www.turbovans.com
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Jeff Lincoln" <magikvw@GMAIL.COM>
>> To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
>> Sent: Saturday, January 22, 2011 3:10 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
>>>
>>