Date: Sun, 22 Apr 2001 11:14:44 -0700
Reply-To: Karl Wolz <wolzphoto@worldnet.att.net>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Karl Wolz <wolzphoto@worldnet.att.net>
Subject: Re: HELP Flashing red temp light!
You have a small coolant leak somewhere which has gradually used up your
reserve of coolant. Most likely candidate is the rear heater. If you turn
it on when the system is at operating temperature, do you smell antifreeze?
The light on later Vanagons will start blinking when the coolant level gets
more than a quart or so low, and if you simply fill the overflow tank, when
the engine cools off (to cold) it will gradually suck the coolant into the
system through the fill tank cap.
You will need to find your leak and repair it, but this is not an emergency;
just something that has to be done.
If you look at the main coolant tank (the one with the cap), you will see a
probe with a double wire coming out of it. This is what tells that red
light to start blinking even though you are not in a hot engine situation.
If your engine wee actually hot. the light would be blinking and the gauge
would be reading very high.
Karl Wolz
----- Original Message -----
From: "Ron Komoroski" <motresyklman@lynchburg.net>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Sunday, April 22, 2001 10:56 AM
Subject: HELP Flashing red temp light!
> Listees,
> If all this info exists in an archive please direct me off list.
> Vehicle '87 Vanagon westy, 54k miles (really). It was first purchased by
an
> anal-retentive retired engineer located in New Mexico, the vehicle is
> gorgeous and has been perfect, until this problem.
> Yesterday we headed down the road, running 60ish on a 4 lane, ambient temp
> about 70 degrees F, when I noticed a flashing red light located in the
> temperature gage. I pulled off, killed the motor, & looked it up in the
> drivers manual. The belt was OK, the overflow tank was empty, the fans at
> the front of bus were not running, (we never heard them come on at all,
> during the whole limp home). After a few minutes I restarted the motor &
> started home, it took several miles to start blinking again. The ride home
> was about 25 miles & I had to let it cool twice, traffic was very light &
I
> was able to kill the motor & coast ( I figured starting from a stop on
the
> roadside would create a lot more heat). The temperature gage itself never
> got above it's normal mid position. I have never seen any trace of leakage
> under the motor.
> So, where do I start? Where are the senders for the gage & red light
> located? If the motor was hot, why didn't the gage indicate it? Where are
> the thermo-switches for the front fans? ( The fan fuse is OK). Do I have
to
> go to the VW dealer & buy coolant, or is any phosphate-free coolant OK? I
> have the Bentley Manual, but I'm asking for the wisdom of the list before
I
> start digging into that monster.
> TIA,
> Ron
Komoroski
>
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