>I know it is heat related, because if I open the rear hatch and remove the
>engine cover for a few minutes, it clears up and I can start fine.  The lack
>of juice to the starter when the lights etc work great indicates it is not
>a vapor lock or something like that.

When the solonoid gets hot, the copper wire resistance increases, reducing
the current drawn by it and the pull in force gets weaker.

I havn't heard anyone talk about the "ridge in the solonoid plunger
problem" on this list yet. This was a very common problem on vans when I
used to work in a bus shop. Unfortunatly, many people didn't know about the
problem and would try to fix it with a relay like in the old 6V days. They
add lot's of poor wiring in the dirty over tranny area with a relay, what a
mess!

Here's what I found:

Occurance:
Usually at around 130K miles.

Symptoms:
Solonoid does not click, especially after a long drive (vibration? and hot
starter). Usually starts after it cools, or if terminals on starter are
jumped, or if solonid is whacked with a heavy object. Gets worse over a
period of months.

Problem:
The solonoid plunger has a groove worn in it from sitting on the edge of
the solonoid body and vibrating. When the solonoid pulls in it gets a side
load from the lever which pushes it into the groove. This makes it hard to
pull in.

Solution:
Remove starter and solonoid. Note (mark) the orientation of solonoid
plunger to the solonoid body! Clean and lubricate plunger with tri-flow and
some grease. Now rotate the plunger 180 degrees (since there are two ways
the plunger can engage with the lever) and re assemble.

I have fixed starting problems on at least 20 vans this way, never had one
come back. :-)

HTH
 -Otmar-
72(front),73(rear),76,78,82,87(parts) Stretched bus
82 A3 GTI Westfalia, turning into a hybrid electric stretch
86 Syncro 7 passenger Soon to be the front of the new stretch
Several EVs (Electric Vehicles)
Have owned way too many VWs to list. :-)
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