1999 Eurovan Camper - Severe Hesitation

History:

Vehicle sat in garage drained of water and waste, and clean,
stabilized gasoline (full tank) and w/o batteries from November 30 to
April 27. Batteries added and it started without difficulty.

Out of gear and sitting, engine will track smoothly up to red-line and
down again without any roughness.
In gear and under load when the engine hits ~2,500 rpm it is like
hitting a wall - the power drops to 0. Let the RPM drop, bring it back
up slowly, it engages again. Same at any speed. By feathering the
throttle, I can get it to any reasonable speed, but not hold it at
that speed without continuing to feather.

And, the second time it was run (after sitting overnight), the Check
Engine light came on and remains on.

No undue smells, no smell of unburnt gasoline. No rough idle, no rough
running.

~97,000 miles on it. Always synthetic oil, always changed regularly
(at least) once per year at the beginning of the driving season.
Averages less than 5,000 miles per year, however.

My first guess is Oxygen Sensor. I do not have a OBD II tool, but if
advised to get one. And any other helpful suggestions are welcome.

Thanks in advance.

Peter Wieck
Melrose Park, PA

> ~97,000 miles on it. Always synthetic oil, always changed regularly
> (at least) once per year at the beginning of the driving season.
> Averages less than 5,000 miles per year, however.
>
> My first guess is Oxygen Sensor. I do not have a OBD II tool, but if
> advised to get one. And any other helpful suggestions are welcome.
>

If you suspect the o2 sensor just disconnect it and try again. Could also be
clogged injectors, fuel filter etc.
Are you sure it's obd2 compliant?


SFC

On Apr 30, 2:57*pm, "SFC" > wrote:
> Are you sure it's obd2 compliant?

Yes.

The fuel filter might be a good idea - it is about 35K old and kinda-
sorta due anyway.

Peter Wieck
Melrose Park, PA

On Apr 30, 3:11*pm, " > wrote:
> On Apr 30, 2:57*pm, "SFC" > wrote:
>
> > Are you sure it's obd2 compliant?
>
> Yes.
>
> The fuel filter might be a good idea - it is about 35K old and kinda-
> sorta due anyway.
>
> Peter Wieck
> Melrose Park, PA

Not the fuel filter.

Peter Wieck
Melrose Park, PA

On May 1, 10:40*am, " > wrote:
> On Apr 30, 3:11*pm, " > wrote:
>
> > On Apr 30, 2:57*pm, "SFC" > wrote:
>
> > > Are you sure it's obd2 compliant?
>
> > Yes.
>
> > The fuel filter might be a good idea - it is about 35K old and kinda-
> > sorta due anyway.
>
> > Peter Wieck
> > Melrose Park, PA
>
> Not the fuel filter.
>
> Peter Wieck
> Melrose Park, PA

OK - problem solved. I took it to my mechanic who has the Snap-On OBD
system and who has been servicing the vehicle for the last five years.
He set up the sensor and it told him essentially that the ECM had
failed and the system was in "limp home" mode.

After grumbling a few moments to the effect that "this does not happen
with *THIS* VW", he removed both batteries (a camper, remember)
shorted the engine battery hot and ground together for about ten
minutes, re-connected the two batteries and _everything was fine_. No
codes, no Check Engine and just for kicks he asked me to run it up the
highway a while and bring it back - put the emissions probe in -
clean.

His statement afterward was "Sometimes these computers need a hard
reboot if they have been sitting a while".

Peter Wieck
Melrose Park, PA

On 5/4/2011 8:34 PM, wrote:
> On May 1, 10:40 am, > wrote:
>> On Apr 30, 3:11 pm, > wrote:
>>
>>> On Apr 30, 2:57 pm, > wrote:
>>
>>>> Are you sure it's obd2 compliant?
>>
>>> Yes.
>>
>>> The fuel filter might be a good idea - it is about 35K old and kinda-
>>> sorta due anyway.
>>
>>> Peter Wieck
>>> Melrose Park, PA
>>
>> Not the fuel filter.
>>
>> Peter Wieck
>> Melrose Park, PA
>
> OK - problem solved. I took it to my mechanic who has the Snap-On OBD
> system and who has been servicing the vehicle for the last five years.
> He set up the sensor and it told him essentially that the ECM had
> failed and the system was in "limp home" mode.
>
> After grumbling a few moments to the effect that "this does not happen
> with *THIS* VW", he removed both batteries (a camper, remember)
> shorted the engine battery hot and ground together for about ten
> minutes, re-connected the two batteries and _everything was fine_. No
> codes, no Check Engine and just for kicks he asked me to run it up the
> highway a while and bring it back - put the emissions probe in -
> clean.
>
> His statement afterward was "Sometimes these computers need a hard
> reboot if they have been sitting a while".
>
> Peter Wieck
> Melrose Park, PA

Sounds like you have a great mechanic, who is smart enough to not just
start replacing stuff!

--
I'm never going to grow up.

>
> Sounds like you have a great mechanic, who is smart enough to not just
> start replacing stuff!
>
It is amazing how doing that procedure can fix some of the wierdest things.

On 5/5/2011 9:22 AM, LM wrote:
>>
>> Sounds like you have a great mechanic, who is smart enough to not just
>> start replacing stuff!
>>
> It is amazing how doing that procedure can fix some of the wierdest things.
>
>

Yep, and not just with VWs too... Most cars will eventually need to have
this done to them. The failure of the mechanic is never known, they
replace an ECM/PCM but disconnect the battery before replacing, and
never realized the ECM/PCM was in fact good!

--
I'm never going to grow up.