Date: Mon, 19 May 2003 02:01:26 -0400
Reply-To: David Beierl <dbeierl@ATTGLOBAL.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: David Beierl <dbeierl@ATTGLOBAL.NET>
Subject: Re: High Beam Indicator-Ya Gotta Be Kidding Me!!!
In-Reply-To: <000701c31d9c$db9b5640$a2a8bf3f@compaq>
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At 08:23 PM 5/18/2003, Jeff Stewart wrote:
>last junk yard run I picked up a half dozen of those little dash light
>bulbs. But no, as I am to find, it aint a bulb at all, but a LED.
Only if it's green. If it's blue, it's a light bulb with a blue plastic
cover -- they hadn't invented blue LEDs in '84....
> Well, the Westy barely starts, almost like the battery is nearly dead
> (no problem before now. It starts, though, and now the battery indicator is on
You need to get friendly with a schematic diagram and a voltmeter. Putting
the ALT LED in backwards would only make it light if the alternator were
charging but your panel was getting at least 1.5 volts (for dim glow at
night) to 12v (for normal-looking light) less than the alternator was
putting out -- otherwise it simply wouldn't light up at all.
It would not discharge the battery -- these things run on about 20
milliamps of current; enough current to make a noticeable effect on the
battery would make the LED disappear in a puff of smoke.
> and still no high beam indicator.
No panel supply, burnt out bulb, wiring problem (likely stuff getting
unplugged from the back of the fuse/relay panel).
>Take it all apart again, reverse the battery indicator LED and the high
>beam LED and put it all back together again. Now my battery won't even
>turn the engine over, have to jump it. Battery LED now goes out when
>started, but still no high beam indicator, and in fact now my left
>headlight is out on low beam- I'm not making progress here, I'm going
>backwards!
You've got problems at the back of the fuse/relay panel most likely -- it's
a total rat's nest back there, and having the wrong wire unplugged from the
back will cause all manner of weird symptoms as things get either power or
ground from where they're not supposed to. Also, something is draining
down the battery, so get friendly with an ammeter as well and find out
where your current is going to. Insert ammeter in negative lead of
battery, on 10-amp or higher range to start -- read the current, then start
unhooking stuff until it stops (start with fuses). DO NOT crank the engine
with the meter there unless you like the smell of burning meters or it's on
a hundred-amp or better range.
This may very well be a real pain to deal with because it's so hard to tell
where stuff should be on the back of the panel, so be patient and observant
and thoughtful. The 2.1l crowd have it *much* easier here with the
redesigned panel...
Yell if you have trouble understanding the circuit diagram in Bentley, or
if you don't have one.
d
--
David Beierl - Providence RI USA -- http://pws.prserv.net/synergy/Vanagon/
'84 Westy "Dutiful Passage"
'85 GL "Poor Relation"
