µSquirt ( microSquirt ) powered Vanagon ramblings

[Amskeptic]

And speaking of first start...

I would live to brag that the van started with the first turn of the key, but that was not the case. We had some doubts on two relays (fuel pump), and it was a 50-50 chance... It was roll the dice moment, and we should've proably refered to previous pictures, and the manul.. We swapped the connectors, and what do you know. The first official start, and she started purring right up. It took a while for air to displace from the valves, and they were clattering for about 30 seconds....

Video: http://youtu.be/35aVlxyIJkA (attaching does not work here)

Congratulations! How many first starts have you performed?

Now go get thee the plastic sparkplug wire clips that snap into the tins under the intake runners and on the breather tower and you can un-tie the wires from touching each other. The spark plug wires are considered "low priority access" and are routed under the runners to #1 and #3, #2 is held on the breather clip with #1. You can have fully separated wiring for fewer misfires and cross fires over the life of the wire set.
Colin

[luftvagon]

Colin,
After the first crank, and no start, we took the spark plug and checked for spark, and then checked for fuel by moving the AFM to cycle the fuel pump. The fuel pump did not come on, and then we reversed the connectors on the relay that is attached to the firewall. The second video was our "second" crank, and it fired right up. After she warmed up, we dialed in timing, and idle, and did some breaking in.

The next thing on the to do plate is to drop the gas tank, and replace the vent tubing, fuel lever sender, and eliminate the pre-filter using the gowesty pre-filter elimination kit....

[luftvagon]

I think my fuel pressure regulator is kaput! Last night we replaced the fuel pump, and removed the pre-filter, and went with gowesty fuel filter kit. We were in process of test driving the van, and final adjustments, and after 20 miles or so, it started bucking. We pulled over, and while cycling the fuel pump we noticed that the FPR is bypassing too much fuel, and we were starving the engine......

A clamp to FPR inlet hose later, and we were back on the road with no issues............

Should've replaced it while I was there.. oh well.

[Amskeptic]

I think my fuel pressure regulator is kaput! Last night we replaced the fuel pump, and removed the pre-filter, and went with gowesty fuel filter kit. We were in process of test driving the van, and final adjustments, and after 20 miles or so, it started bucking. We pulled over, and while cycling the fuel pump we noticed that the FPR is bypassing too much fuel, and we were starving the engine......

A clamp to FPR inlet hose later, and we were back on the road with no issues............

Should've replaced it while I was there.. oh well.

The only accurate test of the fuel pressure regulator is a pressure test with a known good gauge.
With the engine off, the fuel pressure regulator bypasses 100% of the fuel. It has to.
A clamp on the inlet, while I am glad it got you home, is a dangerous thing.
Quiz:
what pressure does fuel pump put out?
right 60 psi.
A good pump with a clamped off pressure regulator could blow a hose off in some circumstance, not yours with a fresh rebuild and new hoses . . . but I am warning any reader here to never never clamp the return to the tank without total supervision and a fuel pressure gauge correctly installed on the test tee.
Colin

[luftvagon]

If it is not FPR, what else could it be?

[Amskeptic]

If it is not FPR, what else could it be?

Very good question. Let's figure it out.

It sounds like your Hail Mary got you home, so you may indeed very close to the problem.

I posit that you might have had a drop in fuel pressure due to obstruction? overheated pump? shredded paper in brand new filter? who knows? and you did exactly what worked.

Step 1 check fuel pressure. If it is 28-30 idling, 36-38 when you yank the vacuum hose off the end of the regulator, it is not the regulator. Note that a pump can build pressure easily enough, but can it sustain it with flow (think: kinked garden hose builds pressure easily enough with faucet barely cracked open, but when you release the kink, it goes limp after a brief spray)?

How is it running today without the pinch?
Colin

[luftvagon]

I have not checked today. Should be able to check it when I get back from work. Interesting thing was that this all worked fine, until 15 miles into the ride. We were doing 2nd gear roll-ons, and letting go of the throttle. It also showed no indication of an issue during idle on, full throttle, while parked in garage.

[vdubyah73]

15-20 minutes drive could be gas tank not venting.

[luftvagon]

We opened the gas tank cap, and drove around with cap off.

[Amskeptic]

We opened the gas tank cap, and drove around with cap off.

Could be a pump getting hot and irritable, too.

You say "we" . That means you have a co-test pilot? That could help.
Colin

[luftvagon]

The hot-rod gentlemen who put the motor in. He did an exceptional job. On my way home last night, I could not believe the difference the new motor made. I was climbing hill looking for a 5th gear. Not sure if it the new valves (42x36) are helping, but man I am loving this machine. There was no reason not-to-go aircooled!! Perfect speed, accelerates just fine, and it cruises at 70, like its at home....

This afternoon, on your advice, I took the clamp off the FPR inlet hose, and started it, and took it for a spin around the block. She is bucking. Got a new FPR from OReilly's... $65. Tomorrow afternoon I'm going to be installing the new FPR, and doing the final adjustments.

Tonight we took a break, while the Westy got a quick bath, and a new luggage rack seal.

[luftvagon]

3 issues, bad FPR, bad fuel pump (stopped working), and electrical issues on the wiper blade...
it took us 5 hours to go through everything. in process of elimination we backed out electronic ignition....

but the van is running smooth now.
FPR replaced.
Old Fuel Pump. New one stopped working all together.
Wipers cleaned.

Everything is working like a charm!

[luftvagon]

The problem is back. The intermittent problem is back. The AFM points were cleaned, but that did not fix the problem. The car stalled earlier, and I could not get it back moving. This time I opened the fuel cap, and it started moving again. However, I did not hear any pressure releasing or anything like that. Could it be that the tank is obstructed?

Does anyone have the fuel diagram showing the xconnect tubes, and expansion chambers?

[Amskeptic]

The problem is back. The intermittent problem is back. The AFM points were cleaned, but that did not fix the problem. The car stalled earlier, and I could not get it back moving. This time I opened the fuel cap, and it started moving again. However, I did not hear any pressure releasing or anything like that. Could it be that the tank is obstructed?

Does anyone have the fuel diagram showing the xconnect tubes, and expansion chambers?

Let's try to catch it in the middle of symptoms so we can narrow it down with assurance.
Can you get a decent fuel pressure gauge on the tap, clamp it well, run it up to the back seat where someone can babysit it when the symptoms hit? These gas tanks do not do the pressure releasing whush.
Colin
(are you familiar with "Vanagon Syndrome" where a resistor on the AFM bridging contacts fixed it?)

[luftvagon]

I'll setup the pressure test. I'm familiar with the vanagon syndrome, and thought about it, but did not know it applies to earlier vanagons too.

I am going to be moving the AFM board away from the grooves. Is there any way to re-set the gap between the board and the groove?