Club 80-90 Forums

Right, we're currently in northern France having had an eventful journey down. Basically after about 2 hours of driving the van it suddenly looses power, with the revs fluctuating up and down and forcing us to stop. After about maybe 30 mins of rest she's back to her normal self for maybe another couple of hours.

Tomorrow we attempt the journey back to Calais. Do you think we'll be safe? From my extremely limited knowledge I'm assuming it's a dirty fuel line maybe. Any pointers would be much appreciated.

Thanks, Dan.

If yours has an MV 2.1 (with CAT) then follow the Lambda probe wiring (probe is sticking out the Cat on the left side as you look at the exhaust from the rear) pull apart the wiring (it's under the engine hatch furthest away from you on the left...).

See how it goes.....it can be driven without the lambda probe connected and if the fault does not return then there is a good chance you just need to re-new the probe.

Martin

Our is an iDJ 2.1. Would that still be the case with the CAT?

Also when I switch on the ignition I hear two 2 second drone noises which I'm sure I didn't used to hear.

2 second drone is fuel pump priming (pressurising petrol lines), and is normal for fuel injection. You maybe didn't notice it until you had a problem and now you are on high alert to odd noises!

On a DJ you will not have the lambda or cat, so it must be something else. Sounds like typical "vanagon syndrome" and will probably be electrical. My first check would be the connector to the air flow meter (big black plug with spring clip, AFM is part of airbox RHS), just pull it off and on a few times to partially clean any corrosion on the pins and make a better contact. A bad contact here will make the ECU throw a wobbler and give very erratic running. Next check the earth contacts are good and clean on top of left hand head (10mm bolt). The injection system is all earthed through this point so good contact is essential (assuming the engine is properly earthed through the strap on gearbox mount - wouldn't hurt to put a 2nd eath strap from engine to body).
Next check is the temp2 blue sender on the LH side of the thermostat housing. If this fails (or poor contact) the ecu won't get a meaningful coolant temp signal, and will default to cold running condition i.e. overfuelling and greatly increased tickover. Pull the plug off and check the revs pick right up (don't let the plug dangle to melt on the hot exhaust). Push it back on and tickover should return to normal.
If none of this cures your problem (or finds the fault), then it's likely to be more than a roadside job as it could be a worn out track on the rheostat in the AFM or a problem in the wiring loom.

Your theory about dirty fuel line is unlikely, as this would maybe block one or two injectors but would not cure itself after standing and then run normally for a couple of hours. It might make it misfire, but probably wouldn't cause the revs to rise and fall either.

Thank you so much for the advice. We managed to get back from Paris with no hiccups apart from 10 mins from home (the strange kangerooing again). Made sure we didn't push her, giving her a breather every hour and half. Going to have her looked over next week hopefully as the Eber needs fixing also.

Assuming that you have one between the fuel tank and the engine, it sounds like it could be muck in the fuel filter. Muck can settle down after stopping. It then gets stirred up again under load. I hope that it is as simple as that.

Ralf85 wrote:Assuming that you have one between the fuel tank and the engine, it sounds like it could be muck in the fuel filter. Muck can settle down after stopping. It then gets stirred up again under load. I hope that it is as simple as that.

I'm hoping so too!

all of the below and if you take the afm from the air filter box and give it a good clean and a good blast with contact cleaner it could just be crap on the track, you can reposition the pointer by bending it slightly. there are a couple of how to's on utube. don't buy any new/ second hand bits apart from the temp 2 sender seal and clip about a tenner all in, expect to get wet when changing it. start on one side of the engine bay and clean all the electrical connections separate them blast of contact cleaner a scrub with an old toothbrush, do this first a couple of quid and a couple of hours. I got all wrapped up in vanagon syndrome and now have a large pile of spares that I didn't use

mark

ajsimmo wrote:2 second drone is fuel pump priming (pressurising petrol lines), and is normal for fuel injection. You maybe didn't notice it until you had a problem and now you are on high alert to odd noises!

On a DJ you will not have the lambda or cat, so it must be something else. Sounds like typical "vanagon syndrome" and will probably be electrical. My first check would be the connector to the air flow meter (big black plug with spring clip, AFM is part of airbox RHS), just pull it off and on a few times to partially clean any corrosion on the pins and make a better contact. A bad contact here will make the ECU throw a wobbler and give very erratic running. Next check the earth contacts are good and clean on top of left hand head (10mm bolt). The injection system is all earthed through this point so good contact is essential (assuming the engine is properly earthed through the strap on gearbox mount - wouldn't hurt to put a 2nd eath strap from engine to body).
Next check is the temp2 blue sender on the LH side of the thermostat housing. If this fails (or poor contact) the ecu won't get a meaningful coolant temp signal, and will default to cold running condition i.e. overfuelling and greatly increased tickover. Pull the plug off and check the revs pick right up (don't let the plug dangle to melt on the hot exhaust). Push it back on and tickover should return to normal.
If none of this cures your problem (or finds the fault), then it's likely to be more than a roadside job as it could be a worn out track on the rheostat in the AFM or a problem in the wiring loom.

Your theory about dirty fuel line is unlikely, as this would maybe block one or two injectors but would not cure itself after standing and then run normally for a couple of hours. It might make it misfire, but probably wouldn't cause the revs to rise and fall either.

Found this interesting article on our problems
http://www.members.shaw.ca/bilbo/WBafm.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

when the kangarooing happens for vanagon syndrome you will have been traveling for at least hour at a steady speed then it surges and looses power until you stop, and if you pull over and stop turn off and restart immediately it will be cleared and might not happen again for year. you can buy the resister offof ebay and there are a few how to's on utube the resister is less than a quid. the stopping and letting it cool sounds like ignition amp, temp2, muck on the afm track or a dirty connection somewhere.

mark