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Date:         Thu, 24 Mar 2005 18:21:19 -0600
Reply-To:     Bruce Nadig <motorbruce@HOTMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Bruce Nadig <motorbruce@HOTMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: Radiator Fan Turns On But Not Off
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed

Howdy From Texas,


I finally got to the root of my problem with the radiator/condenser fan. It
stemmed from some custom wiring that was required due to my engine
conversion. For those of you not familiar with my Vanagon, it is now powered
by an engine from an '87 Porsche 911 3.2 liter Carrera.


Up front I don't use the radiator for anything other than holding the a/c
condenser in place and housing the Porsche 993 oil cooler. The oil cooler
has an off/on thermo switch as opposed to the off/low/high thermo switch in
the radiator. I made an error in adapting the wiring the the harness (more
detailed information by request for those of you really want it).


At any rate, once I corrected this wiring, I discovered that the shop that
had just done a ton of work on the a/c system (and charged me for about 3
tons of work), had not gotten things set up to turn a/c compressor clutch
on! After an afternoon of investigating, studying wiring diagrams, testing,
tracing, and cursing, I finally noted that the wiring diagram indicated that
the a/c compressor clutch relay is a NORMALLY CLOSED relay, not the more
common normally open relay like the shop had installed.


This kind of gets me pissed because I paid them to put in the incorrect
part, and to do a ton of troubleshooting to solve the problem of the
compressor clutch not turning on. Even then, they didn't solve the problem -
I did. I knew that there was a reason why I do virtually all of my own work
(with the help of some very trusted friends) on the van.


Moral to the story: If you have the knowledge and skills to do your own
repair work, you are best off doing the job yourself. If you are not
mechanically inclined, make sure that whoever is working on your van is
competent, knowledgeable on Vanagons, and is motivated to do high quality
work on your Vanagon.


Best of luck to you all, and thanks to everyone that sent suggestions on my
problem.


Cheers,
Bruce
motorbruce
motorbruce@hotmail.com






>From: Bruce Nadig <motorbruce@HOTMAIL.COM>
>Reply-To: Bruce Nadig <motorbruce@HOTMAIL.COM>
>To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
>Subject: Radiator Fan Turns On But Not Off
>Date: Fri, 18 Mar 2005 12:43:11 -0600
>
>Howdy From Texas,
>
>I've been off the list since mid-December - out of town and away from
>e-mail. I've missed ya'll. It is good to be back.
>
>I have an unusual problems on my '87 GL. The "radiator" fan will turn on
>when triggered by the thermo switch or the a/c, as it should. However, once
>it comes on - and it has always come on in the high speed mode - it stays
>on, no matter what. It will stay on until the there is no more power
>available. It will run long after the ignition has been turned off. The fan
>runs until it drains the battery or until the battery is disconnected.
>
>As some background, the van did sit undriven for about 16 months while I
>was
>doing an engine conversion to an '87 Porsche 911 Carrera 3.2 liter engine.
>The radiator and its thermo switch are no longer a factor. Instead I have
>an
>oil cooler with a thermo switch that behaves as the radiator thermo switch
>does (except it is on/off instead of off/low/high).
>
>The thermo switch shouldn't be the problem as I have started the fan using
>a
>jumper wire with the thermo switch disconnected. Once the jumper is removed
>the fan remains on high. When the A/C is switched on, the fan will also be
>switched on and will remain on until the power is disconnected.
>
>Without having investigated very far, I am guessing that there may be a
>problem with the control unit that powers the fan on and off. I assume that
>this control unit is a simple relay, but I'm not sure. The Bentley manual
>isn't specific. Where is this control unit/relay located? Is it behind the
>panel at the left rear of the van?
>
>Any and all help is greatly appreciated.
>
>Cheers,
>Bruce
>motorbruce@hotmail.com
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