Thanks for the replies Karl, Dug and Larry,

Your responses were consistent in pointing to the ignition system so I
checked, cleaned and adjusted the components of that system yesterday.
Fortunately it was still raining and the problem was still present,
unfortunately I saw no improvement.  Since many of the components have a 3
or 4 years (and the coil 28!) on them I went ahead and ordered:

new coil
new plug/coil wires
new rotor
new distributor cap
new pertronix electronic ignition

and while I was at it a new ground strap and the starter relay kit from bus
depot just in case I have a low voltage issue that is somehow related.

I plan to add in all of these components and also clean up/grease any
grounds/connections that I can get my hands on.  Hopefully this approach
will solve this issue.  If not, I'll at least have eliminated a number of
sources of the problem.

Jonathan Poole
83 AC Westy

On Sat, Feb 5, 2011 at 12:53 AM, Karl Wolz <wolzphoto@q.com> wrote:

>  Clean the plug wire dizzy ends to bright metal.  Same with connections on
> dizzy cap (�� drill with steel wool wrapped around it works well).  Coat
> liberally with dielectric gel.  Reassemble.  Report back.
>
>
>
> Karl Wolz
>
>
>   ------------------------------
>
> *From:* Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] *On Behalf
> Of *Jonathan Poole
> *Sent:* Friday, February 04, 2011 10:32 PM
> *To:* vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> *Subject:* cranky when wet
>
>
>
> Howdy List,
>
> I've got an 83 air cooled vanagon that runs great but occasionally starts
> roughly when wet.  If it sits for a while in heavy rain it is slow to start
> and sort of mis-fires or misses when it first cranks then it stumbles and
> as
> it hits higher rpms (1500 and up) it clears it's throat so to speak and
> then
> runs normally/great.
>
> In the past week the van has been sitting and the last day or two have seen
> a lot of rain, at times heavy.  Tonight I went out to start the van and it
> would turn over fine but not hit at all.  I smelled a bit of gas when I
> went
> back to open the engine lid and also tried to start it with fuel turned off
> and the throttle open for a while to see if it was flooded.  I can do this
> because I have a fuel shut-off under the dash for security and
> high-altitude
> cold starting.  In any case, turning the fuel off didn't make any
> difference
> and the van was still not hitting and only spinning rapidly over at any
> throttle and with fuel off and on.  I did notice the tach needle jumping a
> small bit.  I then checked for power at the coil which was good, and I
> checked the opening/closing of the ignition points with an ohm meter while
> hand-turning the engine which looked fine.  I also checked for fuel
> pressure
> by opening the bleeder in between 3 and 4 and it looked like there was
> pressure/fuel.  After that I inspected the harness and noticed that the
> section running to the jetronic box is getting pretty wet under the air
> cleaner.  I relocated it to above the canister vent lines to get it up a
> bit
> but wasn't able to do much there.  After playing around with the harness
> etc. though when I went to try it again it started to hit a bit.  After
> lots
> of trying (try for 10 seconds or so then wait a few minutes for close to
> ten
> minutes) it finally started and soon after was running great.  Good thing I
> have a newish battery, starter etc.
>
> Also, even though I think that the van was getting plenty of fuel I wasn't
> able to confirm it since I don't have a remote start hooked up and was
> doing
> this troubleshooting alone.  I also don't really know if it was getting
> spark or not.
>
> The van has never done more than start roughly when wet so this was the
> first time it has done this exactly. I'm guessing that the way the van was
> parked or the amount of rain were just right for it to either not have
> spark
> or less likely enough fuel.  What I don't know is how to fix the problem.
> Have any of you dealt with symptoms like this?  Is it an ignition component
> problem, a wiring harness problem, the ecu, other?  It was annoying when
> the
> van occasionally started rough but now that I know it can prevent starting
> at all I intend to get to the bottom of the issue and fix it somehow.  Any
> suggestions or similar experiences appreciated.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Jonathan Poole
> '83 AC Westy
>  ------------------------------
>
> No virus found in this message.
> Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
> Version: 10.0.1204 / Virus Database: 1435/3423 - Release Date: 02/04/11
>