Date:         Wed, 15 Feb 2006 11:14:27 -0800
Reply-To:     Michael Diehr <md03@XOCHI.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Michael Diehr <md03@XOCHI.COM>
Subject:      Re: Instrument Cluster Woes
In-Reply-To:  <5.2.0.9.2.20060215125150.035d05a0@mail-hub.optonline.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; delsp=yes; format=flowed

Should i bother trying a new headlight switch first?

On my 85, those crowns are up against the left wall of the vehicle,
don't look easy to get to at all, whereas the headlight switch looks
easy to fix.

On Feb 15, 2006, at 9:56 AM, Tim Demarest wrote:

> Yep, the '85s look like that too (I've seen mine up-close and
> personal).
>
> I never got the crowns themselves off the body (they're screwed in
> there
> pretty tight), but your problem is more likely to be corrosion in
> one or
> more of the spade terminals that push onto the crowns, or (less
> likely) a
> wire no longer making good contact to it's crimped-on terminal.
>
> These connections should definitely be taken apart and cleaned at
> least
> once every 20 years. :-)
>
>
> At 11:16 AM 2/15/2006 -0600, Jim Felder wrote:
>> Ground problems. Pull the fuse box out and look up behind it. I don't
>> know what the 85 grounds will look like, the later models (and
>> possibly
>> yours) have two "crown"-looking fixtures screwed into the metal under
>> there. Removing and fully cleaning these did it for me.
>>
>> Jim
>>
>>
>> On Feb 15, 2006, at 10:41 AM, Michael Diehr wrote:
>>
>>> My instrument cluster (85 vanagon with auto tranny, with tach)
>>> recently began exhibiting the following symptoms:
>>>
>>> Engine running.
>>> Headlight switch off:     All is well.
>>>
>>> Headlight switch on (either Parking lights or Headlights):
>>>   Parking and/or Headlights turn on as usual.
>>>   Water temp gauge drops to zero.
>>>   Tach drops to zero.
>>>   Clock turns off.
>>>   High beam LED glows dimly. (if i turn on high beams, the LED goes
>>> OUT, ironically)
>>>   Cluster illumination lights off.
>>>
>>> If i rotate the cluster illumination dimmer control, the tach &
>>> water
>>> gauge will flicker to life briefly.
>>>
>>> Headlight switch back to OFF:
>>>   Everything goes back to normal.
>>>   The water temp gauge blinks for a few seconds (as if you'd just
>>> turned on the ignition).
>>>
>>> Is this more likely a headlight switch failure?   Or perhaps ground
>>> problems in the fuse box?  Or the voltage regulator issue?
>>>
>>> thx!