Date:         Tue, 4 Apr 2006 12:50:13 -0700
Reply-To:     John Bange <jbange@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         John Bange <jbange@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: disabling the damn oil buzzer
Comments: To: Tim Leek <tleek@ll.mit.edu>
In-Reply-To:  <CA0ECCC2-F3C2-4E88-B96F-17BEF4D84054@ll.mit.edu>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

> I have an 87 Vanagon that likes to buzz at me and flash the oil light
> after 15 minutes.  Super annoying.


Just out of curiousity, what weight oil are you running?

Wife wants me to sell the piece
> of $*&#$.


 And a lightning bolt didn't come down from the sky and strike her down for
such blasphemy? Incredible! My wife has said the same thing and escaped
unscathed as well.

  Oil pressure is fine (according to click and clack)


Personally, I'd want to install an oil pressure gauge so I could tell MYSELF
if it's good. I'm sure they run a competent garage, but the trouble with ANY
mechanic is that that they can only afford to care about the problem for as
long as you pay for. If they tested the .9bar sensor and found it registered
closed circuit above 2K RPM, or somehow plugged in a temporary oil pressure
gauge somewhere and found it within specs (assuming they know the specs),
thus determining that it's the wire from the sensor to the gauge; then sure,
why not just bend back the tach pin and shut that buzzer up. If all they did
was ground the .9bar sensor wire and see that it still buzzes over 2K, well
yeah, they'd know the wire was bad, but this wouldn't tell them anything
about the pressure. Vanagons are weird machines. I had two highly competent
general mechanics nearly break down in tears trying to troubleshoot cooling
problems on my Vanagon when I first got it. I eventually had to break down,
pull my tools out of mothball, and figure out how to fix it myself-- mostly
learning via the list archives.
 At any rate, my only concern would be running with only the .3bar sensor
and no gauge. Seems to me that by the time a wasserboxer over 2K RPM only
shows .3bar, the oil light on the dash might as well be labelled "Buy New
Engine". Then again, the 1.9's and AC's had only the .3 sensor from the
factory. If you have AAA and only use it for trips close to home, what's to
worry about, right?

--
John Bange
'90 Vanagon - "Geldsauger"