[Vwdiesel] One for the archives...RE: '82 Vanagon westy and enginecutting out issue

[Shawn Wright]

On 18 May 2005 at 21:27, Roger Brown <r.c.brown at ieee.org> wrote:

> Area31 Research Facility wrote:
> > You really should run a wire from the fuel solenoid terminal through a small
> > 12 volt light bulb to chassis ground so you can monitor the quality and
> > stability of the voltage on the fuel solenoid while in the driver's seat.  A
> > voltmeter on the passenger seat would also suffice.  Cars can develop
> > electrical wiring and switch problems and intermittents are the worst to try
> > to diagnose.  This will give you at least one answer to the puzzle.  I would
> > prefer to use an older type analog multimeter with the needle on graduated
> > scale rather than a digital display for this purpose.  It is easier to see
> > hickup trends on this kind of display.
> 
> I hooked my center console voltmeter to the solenoid wire.  It is the closest
> thing to an ignition-switched circuit on the diesel engine and it makes a handy
> troubleshooting device, both to monitor the alternator charging voltage and also
> the solenoid.

Now that is a good idea... damn... now I need to get another gauge! 

Shawn Wright
http://zuiko.sls.bc.ca/~swright
'85 Jetta D 
'88 Westy 2.1L, soon to be 1.6TD 5 speed
 (see progress at http://members.shaw.ca/vwdiesels)
'82 Diesel Westy