You're changing its brain, but its soul remains.  Don't change its name.

Karl Wolz

----- Original Message -----
From: Jeffrey T Cross <jtcross@CDC.NET>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Friday, October 29, 1999 8:13 PM
Subject: Re: ECU problems tied into Weird Hesitation / Loss of Power

> Almost never, perhaps, but regarding my thread last week (Weird
> hesitation/loss of power in '85), my mechanic today swapped my ECU with
the
> one in his own '84. The problem went with the ECU! I.e. my van runs like
it
> ought, and his like mine did [runs pretty well for 5-10 minutes, followed
> by hesitation, jerking, loss of power; turning off and on fixes it for
> another 10 minutes....] I'm still going to drive it some more tomorrow for
> testing, but at this point it feels like a new van. So given this info but
> keeping in mind that "ECU's almost never go bad" is there anything else
> that ought to be checked before investing in a new computer? Should I have
> friends who know circuit board repair have a gander at it?
>
> Oh, another computer question: Scott said the part numbers were the same
on
> the units except mine had a C at the end. Would this relate to the fact
> that mine came with California emissions or that mine is manual and his
> automatic? Or just a year of difference?
>
> And a related Vanagon ethics question: if I DO replace the computer, is my
> van still the same van? Should I give it a new name?
>
> At 07:30 AM 10/29/99 , you wrote:
> >   Your right the problem is your mechanic. ECU's almost never
> >go bad.
> >
> >             Eric                   86-VW4x4
> >             vw4x4@fyi.net          72-240z
> >             Pittsburgh, PA USA     1936-Chrysler
> >
> >
> >On Thu, 28 Oct 1999, Neil Wigley wrote:
> >
> > > I had some trouble with low power and occasional stuttering.
> > >
> > > My mechanic said new ECU. Sent it to Darrell instead, who performed
> > > some marvels on it and tested it.