Club 80-90 Forums

Hi I've looked through the forums but not able to link anything with this issue.
I have 1.9dg. Last year stuck in slow / standstill traffic for a good few hours. My van cut out and really struggled to start and felt a bit rough once finally going.

Fast forward last week. Similar circumstances on the m5 car park. Van wouldn't rev and died. eventually started and once the traffic moved it was running but sometimes a bit rough.

Someone mentioned overheating. The needle did not go above 1/4 although driving back I noticed hot air blowing through when the cold air was on!!

Any ideas / checks

Cheers neil

Have you ever changed the thermostat?
With the needle not going over a 1/4 then I would suspect that it has been removed by the PO.
This might confuse the autochoke, and it would be causing the roughness.

All based on your description.

Hi. No I haven't checked it since I've owned it (last year), but I'll check it out. Cheers

I would check temp gauge and wiring too. Needle on mine sits anywhere between red LED and about 1 needle width higher. If thermostat is in and operating correctly, it could be a reading issue.

Did you hear the fan come on?

It might be overheating but the gauge is reading false.

I have bled the system quite recently and I heard the fan coming on.. And when I was parked up to get some directions the fan kicked in.

If it's not cutting out due to over heating it could be an ignition fault. I had similar issues a while back which were resolved by updating and servicing my ignition system. There are lots of cutting out/stalling threads and advice on here

Could also be fuel pump in last throws. I suppose if you get a non-start scenario again but it kicks into life with a little petrol drizzled into carb throat - you'll know the cause.

I'm not sure what is causing it, but when it does cut out usually when stuck in traffic, it almost sounds like the battery is dead as it really struggles to turn over, then it will kick into life once left for a short while.

I was questioning the overheating as I was driving back and just getting hot air through the cold blowers. Not sure if this is connected or not??

Thanks anyway for your advice so far

You can get hot air if the valve underneath no longer closes properly when using the hot/cold lever on dash. Mine does that to be honest. It may therefore not be overheating but wise to check if rad fan works correctly.

How old is your battery and have you tested it with a multimeter?

Sounds like what I have but I'm loosing water too. You?


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Hi no not losing water. Battery is an interesting one but it does start. However, it struggles with ticking over until it is warm. Maybe connected or jyst another issue lol

It could be your battery, how old is it?

Not sure to be honest. I've only had the bus for just over a year. How will I know if it's on its way out??

stokeseys1974 wrote:I'm not sure what is causing it, but when it does cut out usually when stuck in traffic, ***it almost sounds like the battery is dead as it really struggles to turn over****, then it will kick into life once left for a short while.

Sounds like a very hot almost seized engine to me.
Check for presence of thermostat first, can turn into a bit of a mission if bolts go *ping* so do homework on your particular cooling system and start early.



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