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Date:         Sun, 11 Feb 2001 22:29:18 -0600
Reply-To:     John Rodgers <jhrodgers@CHARTER.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         John Rodgers <jhrodgers@CHARTER.NET>
Subject:      Re: Oil Pressure light & buzzer, Yikes! Mystery # 1
Comments: To: Rob Wilke <wilpho@MCN.NET>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

Rob, The oil system high pressure switch is located at the bottom of the crankcase on the lower left side of the rear of the engine right under the main pulley mounted on the end of the crankshaft. That pulley drives the belts for the alternator, water pump, A/C and power steering. With a flashlight you can actually see the switch by looking down by the pulley through the belts.

Be sure the wire is tight on the connector. That is the usual problem. Also, it's possible the wire is broken inside the wire insulation. These are the two most typical causes for the oil pressure alarm to come on.

There are actually two switches or sensors on the engine. The low pressure switch is between the pushrods on the right hand side of the engine(as seen from the rear of the van and is set for something like 2 psi if I remember correctly. The high pressure switch is set something like 13 psi. The way the system works id for the oil pressure light to be on until the oil pressure rises to 2 psi or greater, then the switch on the side of the engine turns off the light. If the pressure drops below the two psi, the light comes back on. Note however that the alarm does not come on.

If you start the engine and the oil light goes out at start and stays out at idle, you may feel secure, however, if the wire to the high-pressure switch is broken, when engine rpm reaches 2000 (might be 3000 - can't remember for sure) the oil pressure alarm will sound. It is an awful sound.

Try this. It won't hurt your engine. with engine off, disconnect the wire at the pressure switch at the rear of the engine. Start the engine and let it idle....don't rev it up. Note what happens. Oil light goes out on start. Now slowly bring up the rpm's until you hear the alarm sound. Note any lights, note any alarms. Now you have seen the system in it's full operation and know what to expect. Let the engine idle back down, shut it off, and re-attach the wire to the high-pressure switch.

Now, If you know your wires are well connected, and you are getting those lights and sounds, you will know that you truly have an oil pressure problem, and can shut down, with a fully informed mind, not scared out of your wits the way I was when it all happened to me.

A common problem is when the water pump belt fails, it will often break the wire on the switch. So now when you get all those lights and horns, you know where to look, and why.

Good luck,

John Rodgers 88 GL Driver

Good luck!! Rob Wilke wrote: > > While cruising along at about 25 mph yesterday I was listening to Lenny > Kravitz and I noticed a strange tone in the song I had never heard > before. Then I realized this was not some special musical effect but > was actually my Oil system freaking out. I Immeadialty shut her down, > turned off Lenny. As i was shutting her down, I glanced down at the > gauges only to see everything looking normal except the oil pressure > light. I was only a few blocks from home so I started her up again. No > light no buzzer, nothing wierd at all. So I drove her around the > neighborhood taking her thru a few gears reving her up and down. So far > everything has been fine.Has this happened to any of you? I run the > good german filters from the busdepot and Mobil 1. The van has 136,000 > miles on it. The only thing I know of that needs repair is my exhaust > system has a few small holes in it...


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