Date:         Wed, 20 Sep 2000 10:50:59 -0400
Reply-To:     David Beierl <dbeierl@ATTGLOBAL.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         David Beierl <dbeierl@ATTGLOBAL.NET>
Subject:      Re: oil light
Comments: To: karen brown <kpb@GNV.IFAS.UFL.EDU>
In-Reply-To:  <2.2.32.20000920133830.0100a898@gnv.ifas.ufl.edu>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed

At 09:38 9/20/2000, karen brown wrote:
>Now suddenly when I crank her up, the oil light doesn't go out for the first
>2 or 3 miles.  My question, however, is this:  the oil light does not glow
>brightly but only dimly, and it eventually just fades out.  Does the
>brightness have anything to do with the degree of oil pressure?

It *should* not.  The oil pressure sender is simply a switch that opens
when a certain pressure is reached in the system.

>  In other
>words, does the light glow more brightly in really BAD situations and glow
>less in barely bad situations?

No.

>  Of course, I'm hoping that the LED is just
>sticky from the 100% humidity we have here in Florida during rainy times

Unlike a light bulb, an LED will glow faintly with a very small
current.  Moisture, particularly salty moisture on the outside of the
sender could allow this.  The connector has a rubber boot that's supposed
to snap on and keep the connection dry, but by this time it's probably
split or gone entirely.

However, it's also possible that the sender has an internal fault, either
moisture gotten in from outside or a tiny leak in the pressure diaphragm
which will get worse with time.

david

David Beierl - Providence, RI
  http://pws.prserv.net/synergy/Vanagon/
'84 Westy "Dutiful Passage"
'85 GL "Poor Relation"