Mark,

In October 2017 I had similar symptoms with my 2.1l WBX engine. I turned
the ignition key on a cool morning and found that the engine would struggle
to start and run without constant pressure on the accelerator pedal. In the
Bentley I found instructions for measuring electrical resistance on what I
believe is an air intake temperature sensor. I can't remember the exact
details at this time, but I recall the solution. I disconnected the
electrical connector from the sensor, sprayed it with electrical contact
cleaner, dried it, and reconnected it. After that the engine cranked and
ran well. I have not had the symptom or cleaned the connector again in over
a year.

This link is to a photo of the connector. Notice that the two center pins
are darker than the two outer pins. I believe the darker pins were corroded
and were poor conductors.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/b95yd13CLYtktqNM7

I hope that helps.

My best,
Ryan

On Tue, Nov 13, 2018 at 3:05 PM Mark Pinnell <mark.stuart.pinnell@gmail.com>
wrote:

> A little back story first. Recently returned from a 2300+ mile trip from
> our home base in Ontario (last trip of the season as she goes into storage
> in two weeks). Pearl, our 1985 Westfalia performed flawlessly for a thirty
> plus year old vehicle, until the last 60 miles. I could feel a sudden loss
> of power at 60 mph and, although she did get us to a nearby rest area, she
> did not want to idle and I had to pump the accelerator pedal to keep the
> revs up to get her to a parking spot. When we came back out, it was a very
> rough start and again had to push/pump the accelerator to keep her going.
> As we were close to home, we decided to try to limp home.
> Basically had to keep the pedal near the mat on flat ground, could let up a
> little on the downhill, and matted her anytime there was a hill. The
> passing gear cut in below 50 mph and she sounded OK above 3000+ rpm.
> Thankfully, we got her home without further incident...
> When I cycle the key, the fuel pump does do its thing for a very brief
> (maybe a second) time, but it sounds quieter than normal.
> Did some research and checked that the fuses in the front fuse block are OK
> (they are), switched the two relays inside the covered box on the right
> side of the engine compartment to test the fuel pump relay and reversed the
> polarity on the fuel pump in case there were any stuck particles/sediment
> affecting the operation. I also inspected the white plastic tanks and all
> of the fuel lines that I could trace for cracks and/or leaks,but nothing to
> report. She does sound normal when and if I  can coax the rpms up.
> Net result = 0. Symptoms remain the same.
> I will next check for fuel flow, and while my gut tells me fuel pump, just
> wanted to get wiser/more experienced views as to how I might proceed. I'm
> guessing that it may be electrical as well, or in addition to.
> I put a new fuel filter in before we left, and the spark plugs probably
> have 25,000 miles on them, but as I  have new ones I plan on replacing both
> tomorrow (weather permitting as we may get 8-10" of snow tonight).
> I apologize for the lengthy post, but figured the more information the
> group had, the better.
> Any guidance, thoughts or direction would be greatly appreciated.
> Mark
>