Date:         Thu, 15 Jun 2000 11:37:28 -0400
Reply-To:     Mack Paschall <mpaschall@cpt.fsu.edu>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Mack Paschall <mpaschall@cpt.fsu.edu>
Subject:      AC elec fire
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Hey folks,
        Just when everything was working so well- I took my 87 GL on a
four-hour trip and ran the air conditioner the whole time going there.  At
one point the the air coming out of the vents  got warmer.  Tried adjusting
the thermostat and the fan switch, but no real improvement. When I got to
my destination the air seemed to return to its normal cooling ability. The
next day while driving around I heard what sounded to be water sloshing
around.  Couldn't find it while stopped.  Later that day while driving the
fan switch started acting up, lost the number 2 position (but would work on
three and four) then I started to smell electrical smoke.  Pulled off the
road, started checking things with the engine on.  More smoke.  Turned AC
thermo switch all the way off, it stayed on.  Blowers stayed on, smoke
starts billowing out of the housing of the center and front air vents.
Shut down engine, got out of van, pulled items out of engine cover area to
check for fire there, ready to see the whole thing go up in smoke.  Tried
to  pull covers off of AC unit in back, got the plastic nut covers off.
Then nothing: no more smoke.  Checked engine bay, no problem there.
        So, how screwed up is the system now? Neither of the switches work
now, and I'm assuming all the wiring is toast (literally), possibly the
blowers too.  I'll start the autopsy this afternoon or tomorrow, just
curious if anyone has experience with this, how and where I might check
other related items.  BTW, the van ran fine, got me home with no problems.

Thanks
Mack