>|   Basically, what Darrell does is
>| solder a cable with a  inside the ecu, with a female connector on the other
>| end.  He then constructs a box with a male connector which plugs to the
>| aforementioned female connector.  The box contains electronics supporting a
>| series of led's to check various engine functions and a pin layout that
>| allow one to check the oxygen sensor, afm, and both temperature sensors
>| with a multimeter- and do it while the engine is running!  Detailed
>| descriptions of the electronics are on Darrell's website at
>| http://taos.midwest.net/vw.

        The one thing that keeps popping into my head on this is introducing
RF noise into the system. Is there anyway to shield a flat ribbon cable so
that it doesn't act like a big antenna? I'm not worried about the test
equipment destroying the ECU (though I suppose it should be said that one
needs to be a little careful with the test leads), but I am a little worried
that the van could shut down everytime I drive under a set of high tension
lines...

dave