Date: Sun, 28 Sep 2003 18:14:38 +0200
Reply-To: Robert Steven Fish <fish@SALZBURG.CO.AT>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Robert Steven Fish <fish@SALZBURG.CO.AT>
Subject: Re: fan switch or sensor
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Why not buy the new parts, and keep them as a spare??
From my experience with Vanagons, I'd say "If it isn't broken... don't fix
it".
If it does someday break, it will most likely be due to the giant green
resistor behind the drivers side front headlamp housing (PN 251 971 284 E).
The part you mention is a temp sensor and a switch. It has a temperature
sensor in contact with the coolant at the front of the radiator, and
determines whether to switch the fan on at low speed, or high speed.
You mention that you have A/C and that makes your electrical a bit more
complicated, as the circuit is set up to run the high speed fan whenever the
A/C compressor works too hard. This means that there is an extra relay I
believe and a few extra wires involved.
If you are creative, an interesting add-on solution (which I and many other
listmembers have made) is to build in a switch on the dash, whereby you can
manually control the high speed radiator fan. If you are seeing that temp
gauge rising, and want to give your engine some cooling, you can flip it on.
This also helps if your resistor ever fails, because you then can still have
high speed fan manually when you want it.
If you are paranoid about your head gaskets, you can also run the high speed
fan for a few minutes after you stop driving on the highway, and then leave
it on for a few after the car is off. Apparently the engine gets the
hottest right after you stop driving, and that added heat can be a strain on
the heads. I was doing this for awhile, but the noise of the high speed fan
was just way too crazy to leave it on for any significant amount of time.
Good luck with your project!
RSF
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<º)))>{ <º)))>{ <º)))>{ <º)))>{ <º)))>{ <º)))>{
Robert S. Fish
Salzburg, Austria
1987 Wolfsburg Vanagon 2.1 GL Weekender
1987 Golf Cabriolet
1991 Golf
> I am wanting to replace the switch or sensor that
> turns the radiator fan on at various temperature.
> The three speed fan on my 87 vanagon with AC works but
> I wish to renew that parts that are involve in that
> circuit and carry the old parts as spares. Is the
> part I need
> 251959481k? Is this a sensor or switch? thanks gary
