Have you ever felt really really lucky? I certainly did after troubleshooting my VW Campers engine troubles for weeks on end. The engine would start up just fine and then slowly lose power and die after a few minutes of running. The problem became worse when it would only run for a few seconds. I was becoming worried the engine may need replacing. But before I jumped in too new engine land I did a few more tests…

You may have read my other posting on finding the camper and replacing the Mechanical Fuel Pump with an Electric one. Well, when I wired the fuel pump in I wanted to make sure that it would shut off when the engine was off for safety purposes. I tied it into the starter to run fuel when starting and a wire off of the Voltage Regulator when running. Determined to find the problem, I climb under the back of the VW and put a test light on the fuel pump. My faithful co-mechanic and wife hops in and turns the key and I watch the light shine in all its glory when the starter is turning and shut off once the engine is running. AH-HA!!!!!!!! It’s not running with the engine! There was no power to the fuel pump from the source I had tapped into (Voltage Regulator) to run in the “On” position. Of course my wife now thinks I am an absolute genius but at the same time asked the question “Baby, How did we make it across the country and back without a fuel pump?”… I repeat the question outloud, How did we make across….. “Thank God that fuel tank is above the carbs!!!!!!!” I answered. So why did it slowly stop working you ask? Because the two pre filters I had inline to protect the carbs from loose particulates started to plug! Once they were restricted it slowed the flow to the carbs and starved the engine of fuel.

Like every good Volksee My bus has random wires hanging in the engine bay that aren’t hooked up to anything (Most of which were oneday used to save the earth via SMOG equipment) and I just so had one that was still alive… Alive when the engine was running and off when the engine was off. God has a sense of humor.  So now the bus has been cruising happily without trouble for a couple weeks.

Here are pics of today’s adventure. We drove out and crossed the Mayport Ferry to take a look at a 1974 Porsche 914 for sale. It is listed under the featured cars on this site. The car is super nice with the exception of some hard interior seat wear. I hope to own it… I won’t post pics until I decide if I want it or not. Come on, you now how that goes!