I found chaffed wires in the lower left part of the engine compartment.  The
rain made them ground out to the frame.

Bill
----- Original Message -----
From: se7en <manx1342@TELEPORT.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Wednesday, November 17, 1999 2:45 AM
Subject: Help! It's raining & my bus won't accelerate.

Hi Listees,

I've recently purchased an '87 Caravelle that I am starting to restore.
Everything has gone well so far except that since it has started raining
here in Oregon, the more it rains the more often I lose all power from
the engine. It doesn't completely die, It just won't come up off the
idle (which is a bit rough). When I turn off the ignition and turn it
back on it runs good for a few seconds but then shuts down again (no
acceleration). It seems to be a fuel related problem. I've cleaned and
lubed every connector I could find in the engine bay but no help. It
certainly seems to be tied somehow to the humidity level of the air.

Has anybody out there experienced this problem? There are a lot of
Vanagons here in Portland. Any advice, suggestions or wild guesses will
be appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

arlen in Rainland

(I hope this works as it is my first attempt at a post here.)