I guess that it is the intermittent nature of the problem that makes me consider the starter bushing that Scott spoke of. Maybe in a certain position it might require more torque and draw more amperage than the battery can provide. I will check the wiring from the solenoid again and have no doubt that the reistance from the battery to the starter could be decreased with a better path (larger cable). This problem is just a bit unnerving and maybe I could bump the starter and get it to a position that would start the engine or maybe it might take the last bit of current on a Sunday afternoon after an otherwise wonderful weekend of camping in the middle of nowhere with no cell reception. Yes, as Ray Davies said, "paranoia will destoy ya" but in my eyes a reasonable dose of paranoia will keep you on the road in what is an otherwise very healthy Vanagon approaching the ripe old age of 300K. When time and better economic circumstances prevail I will upgrade the starter cables along with the long awaited second battery and solar setup. Really I will! Thanks for all the sage advice listees.

David Clarkson
 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@hotmail.com>
To: 'David Clarkson' <dvdclarksn@AOL.COM>; vanagon <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Tue, Nov 13, 2012 9:35 pm
Subject: RE: was no start-my problem is intermittant sluggish starting

 
 
 
Over the years I have come across many starters that just seem to turn very 
slow. Even Bosch rebuilds. Real trouble shooting requires both a voltage and 
current meter to see what is going on. If you are getting 10.5 volts at the 
starter while cranking you can be sure you have a bad or mechanically 
binding starter. If the voltage goes below that the amp reading will tell 
you if the starter is drawing too much current or the battery-cables cannot 
keep up.  
 
Dennis 
 
-----Original Message----- 
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of 
David Clarkson 
Sent: Tuesday, November 13, 2012 10:13 AM 
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM 
Subject: was no start-my problem is intermittant sluggish starting 
 
 I have a 90 Wetfalia with a manual transmission. I have never had the exact 
no start problem that others are referring to but do have an intermittent 
slow turning starter as though the battery is weak. I have repeatedly 
checked the battery and it checks out okay. I have even had this problem 
when the battery was brand new. The starter has been rebuilt and all the 
grounds are in great shape. I go over the ground connections all around the 
engine compartment regularly. It seems that I heard someone speak of a 
similar problem that involved something, I guess in the casing, of the 
starter being ovaled out. I am not sure how I might look this up in the 
archives. I'm sure that the starter rebuilder, although very reputable, may 
not have noticed a very slight irregularity such as this. Has anyone had a 
similar issue when starting? I can have the sluggish start symptom and then 
shut the engine off and restart and everything turns at a normal speed. 
Thanks list. 
 
David Clarkson 
90 Westfalia?