Date: Sat, 15 Jan 2000 11:18:42 -0500
Reply-To: "Karl F. Bloss" <bloss@ENTER.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: "Karl F. Bloss" <bloss@ENTER.NET>
Subject: Re: Euro-Elec: 91 Volkswagen Vanagon, idiot lights, oil light
In-Reply-To: <4.2.2.20000115095146.00c93aa0@pop.interport.net>
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
Manually check the low pressure sender between the pushrod tubes to see if it's
opening and closing at the same time as the light goes on (hot idle). This is
the sender that should be active under 2000 RPM. If it does what it should
(which is what it sounds like), it really is detecting low oil pressure.
You should do an actual oil pressure test with a proper analog gauge. This
should be part of the toolkit of a mechanic, IMHO. VDO makes a dual sender
(analog for the guage and on/off for the idiot light) with extender hose (the
dual sender doesn't fit in the hole) and gauge, all of which is under $100 and
that'll tell you what's going on.
Miscellaneous:
What weight oil are you using? 5W or 10W is probably to light. Try 20W50.
I've been running 10W30 again for about a week since it's gotten into the
single digits, but I already regret it since my oil pressure is less than 10
psi per 1000 RPM when warmed up. I might be going back to 20W50 despite the
weather an using a block heater more diligently.
What kind of oil filter? If it's FRAM or some other AutoZone junk, throw it
out with reckless abandon. Use a VW (Mann or Mahle) filter. This will also
help reduce lifter noise at startup because of the anti-drainback valve.
Was the oil pump replaced/rebuilt along with the engine? Maybe the clearances
are bad.
-Karl
> _______________________________________________________
>
> 1991 Volkswagen Vanagon 2.1 L
>
> Trans: Standard
> Mileage: 200,000 kilometers
> VIN: WV2ZB0256M
>
> Misc Data: Synchro
> Affected Item: oil light
> Condition: flashing
>
> ____________________________________________________________
>
> After installing replacement engine, oil light flashes when
> engine is warm and idling. I installed a new grey oil
> pressure sensor in the port below the water pump. This did
> not change anything. I then found out that there is a
> second oil pressure sensor between the push rod tubes on
> the left side of the engine. I replaced that one with a
> known good grey switch. This did not change anything. I
> have not checked the actual pressure because I do not have
> the necessary adapters for my oil pressure gauge, and also
> because of the inaccessibility of the ports. I measured the
> resistance of the switches and found them to be 2.5k with
> the engine off and about 400 with the engine running. Can
> anyone explain to me how this system works? Things were so
> much simpler when VW's used air to cool their engines!
> Thank you in advance.
>
>
> Richard Meissenheimer
> bonnie_baker@telus.net
> Technician/Shop Foreman
> Lakeside Auto Sales
> Nelson, British Columbia, Canada
>
> _______________________________________________________
> iATN Industry Sponsors: http://www.iatn.net/atn/
> iATN WebSite: http://members.iatn.net/index.asp
> Guidelines: http://www.iatn.net/guide.html
> To configure or cancel your iATN account see:
> http://members.iatn.net/config/index.asp
>
Karl and Kristina Bloss, Trexlertown, PA
'87 Westfalia Weekender "Beverley" - 192K miles
http://www.enter.net/~bloss/vw/
PA/NJ Vanagon owner's mailing list: http://www.enter.net/~bloss/vw/pavanagon/
