David - a slow turning starter may not be getting all the power it needs. check/clean wiring at terminals on starter , battery ground and block to body ground strap. is the battery known to be good ? I'd pull the starter to clean it and the solenoid. easy enough to test existing ign switch w/o pulling it til it's known to be bad. h t h �safe and happy motoring into the new year and beyond to you too � � � � � � � � mike

________________________________
 From: David Clarkson <dvdclarksn@AOL.COM>
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM 
Sent: Thursday, December 6, 2012 10:04 PM
Subject: Solenoid/starter problem or ignition switch
 
I posted a problem recently of an intermittant problem of a very slow turning starter that I thought might be something in the starter that was ovaled out based� on a post from a while back. Something else happended recently that I thought might have been the solenoid/starter popping back out from the flywheel� where the starter did not disengage when starting until I revved the engine a bit. All was well for about a month of driving and then yesterday when I went to start the van the starter just kept spinning without turning the engine over. Moving the starter switch did not stop this and I had to scramble to disconnect the battery. Maybe something broke in the starter/solenoid assembly?� Since the starter switch is as far as I know original and now has almost 300k on it I ordered one for under $7 from Busdepot just to rule that out. I am thinking that I will also take the starter/solenoid assembly out and use some heavy electrical grease to
 lubricate the moving parts. I did this on my wife's 98 Honda CRV when the starter wasn't disengaging and all has been well. I know a broken tooth on the flywheel is also a possibility but I have never turned the starter over inadvertantly while the engine was running so I hope that this isn't the case. I guess I'm looking at a shotgun approach and will look at the flywheel as it is positioned with the starter out to make sure that a broken tooth is not the problem. First thing that I will do is definitley the switch. Anyone have a similar situation and/or any ideas to streamline the diagnosis? Happy motoring and may you all have a safe and happy holiday season.

David Clarkson
90 Westy