power loss

[thilole]

after driving a 84 vanagon thru the US for 3 months, a spark plug cable failed and had to be replaced. since then (a month ago) the van has 30-40% less power and two mechanics have no idea what could be the cause. any ideas?



thx, thilo

[phil]

I have an '84 Westy. I lost power once for a while.  One day I was checking out the engine and I found a loose/broken wire. I re-connected it and all was well again. My advice, give the engine a thorough once over looking for any wire which may be broken or disconnected. Hell, it fixed my power loss problem.



You mentioned that a spark plug cable was replaced, maybe the rummaging around in the engine compartment loosened a wire.



Phil

[vanagonjohn]

In no way am I any sort of van expert but I had the same sort of problem with my 85.  My van seemed to do tons better after putting on a new ecu.  I don't know what that really does but the guy that works on my van told me thats what he did and now it seems to run way better.  



I'm really not that bad at working on these vans but with the 1.9 it's best to have others around to help out.



Good luck



John

[thilole]

can someone please tell me what an 'ecu' is?



i would also like to add that despite the trouble my milage is very good (21), probably because i avoid cities and drive pretty slow (50) to see the country rather than just the road.



the power loss is such that i have to shift down to third on the slightest of uphill stretches (i normally shift down when falling below 45).



i know how to check the wires, but how do i check if the plugs make a good connection?



regards, thilo

[vanagonjohn]

Do I feel like a dummy.



Well I typed in ecu when it turns out it is a ect.  I have been told that it is a engine control temp ( or something close to that).  The nuts and bolts of it is that it tell the computer the correct temp to run at and some other good stuff.  This is a little over my head but I think that it is a little sensor around the distributer???



Good luck man.

[Vanagonjr]

The ECU is a small "computer" under the rear seat.  It is behind a metal protective box.   I always thhought it was a working or not device from the failures I have heard, and experienced.



Make sure all the plug wires and the coil to cap feed wire were replaced.  Perhaps now is a good time to replace the cap and rotor.  Small change and a crack in the cap could provide problems on damp days.  Sometime taking care of routine maintenance items is good thing to do.   Has the fuel filter been replaced recently?  You could run some injector cleaner through the van as well.  A check, or replacement, of the O2 sensor is worth a look.  If it leans out the mixture, you will be low on power.

The temp 2 sensor which provide a signal to the ECU is good item to check/replace on our aging vanagons.



Clogged mufflers and converters can cause havoc but are difficult to diagnose at times.  I, and others have experienced this is a past (non-Vanagon) car.



Happy trails,

John