Date: Mon, 23 Aug 2004 15:29:56 -0700
Reply-To: Rocket J Squirrel <j.michael.elliott@ADELPHIA.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Rocket J Squirrel <j.michael.elliott@ADELPHIA.NET>
Subject: Re: Coolant temp warning lamp glitch?
In-Reply-To: <20040823221027.84578.qmail@web13521.mail.yahoo.com>
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Malcolm,
Thanks for the hints and passing on some acquired knowledge.
My wife is a VW-lover's dream. Not only does she tolerate my messy
amateur auto mechanic messes, but earlier this year when the alternator
belt on my aircooled bus broke, she also pulled over immediately and
called me. Not her fault that the engine overheated sufficiently to
crack a valve seat (the belt also drives the cooling blower), as the
distance between where the GEN lamp came on and where she pulled over
was only about 1/4 mile and the first place one could pull over anyway.
Many thanks to Mark and Al who called me with advice about this warning
lamp. Mark explained that the main coolant reservoir can be low without
the rear one -- the one you can see without taking all the camping gear
out -- being low. Remove the engine cover and visually inspect the main
reservoir's coolant level. Or crud on the two prongs that sense the
presence of coolant could also be the cause.
Al advised a good shop in Berkeley to take the Vanagon to in case it
does not survive the transport to Oakland with all systems operational,
and a couple of good campgrounds on the coast north of San Francisco for
our first night.
Great group -- thanks everyone!
Mike "Rocket J Squirrel" Elliott
71 VW Type 2 / 84 Westy: A poor but proud race.
KG6RCR
Malcolm Stebbins wrote:
>I'll be interested to see what the wise members of the list say on this one. Often my van's 'red
>blinking light' does not go out at all (a bid differernt than your situation). I check that the
>coolant reservior is full and that the belts are OK & no air in the rad. The Temp guage dose NOT
>go above normal when this happens (same as your situation).
>
>What I know is that if the balance of coolant to water (50/50) muxture is off a bit, the sensor on
>top (in) the coolant reservior will send an 'empty' message to the dash, causing the red light to
>blink. Also the 'blinking red light' control unit on the fuse box can give a false reading
>(that's in the archives). My mechanic says: just drive and forget it. That's tough, but in about
>a 1/2 hour the bllinking red light goes out. This happens about twice a year.
>
>Also the vanagon gods love your wife, as she was smart enough to pull over, turn off the engine
>and call for help. Good for her. :-) M
>
>--- Michael Elliott <j.michael.elliott@ADELPHIA.NET> wrote:
>
>
>
>>After about 5 minutes the red coolant warning lamp under the temp gauge started
>>flashing. The temp gauge was in the normal, midway location.
>>
>>
>
>
>
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