Date: Mon, 4 Sep 2006 07:34:48 -0700
Reply-To: Charles McGehee <chasm@ELLTEL.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Charles McGehee <chasm@ELLTEL.NET>
Subject: Re: Blinking coolant level light
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Well, I dunno. Is there really evidence that "Made in Germany" is
absolutely better than "Made in China?" It's my impression that the
Germans are riding a historical reputaiion which is not necessarily
deserved. I know, for instance, that they are outsourcing work to
Asia every bit as much as we are, and that one reason their "Made in
Germany" parts, etc., are more expensive is because their production
costs are so high. High price does not necessarily equate with good
quality, nor does low price necessarily equate with poor quality,
especially in this day and age. I assume -- maybe wrongly -- if VW
allows their logo onto a product they approve of the quality. Maybe
I'm wrong, but it would hurt them severely if parts bearing their
name were shoddy wherever they're made. I also know that not all
parts in German cars, etc., are necessarily made in Germany.
So where does this leave me. If had clearer evidence that "Made in
China" relays were bad, I'd avoid them.
What's a mother to do?
Charles
"85 Westy
At 07:39 PM 9/3/2006, you wrote:
>Ahhhhh, made in Shanghai. No wonder their retail price is way below
>the importing warehouse cost, much less the resulting markup for the
>factory KAE relay, which retails for around $30 at VW (I think $27
>or so at Bus Depot). Hope it works (I'll stick to buying KAE
>relays, I haven't been much a fan of Chinese relays of late, even if
>they do have the VW-Audi Logo) ;-)
>--
>Jim Thompson
>84 Westfalia 2.1 "Ole Putt"
>73 K Ghia Coupe "Denise"
>72 411 Station Wagon "Pug"
><mailto:oldvolkshome@gmail.com>oldvolkshome@gmail.com
>http://www.oldvolkshome.com
>**********************************
>On 9/3/06, Charles McGehee
><<mailto:chasm@elltel.net>chasm@elltel.net> wrote:
>Ugh. You made my day, Warren. But thanks for the heads up. It's
>hard not to ignore a blinking light that seems to have a mind of its
>own, I know.
>As regards my problem, I finally found the relay and got it out --
>no thanks to VW and Bentley. Unfortunately, though, it's a holiday
>weekend, and being in a small town where parts are hard to come by
>anyway, I'll have to wait until Tuesday to see what's
>available. Will probably have to go on line to get one. By the way,
>Triangle Auto Parts (dba <http://Innerauto.com>Innerauto.com) seems
>to have the best price:
><http://www.innerauto.com/store/psearch.php?part_number=191919376a&x=14&y=5>http://www.innerauto.com/store/psearch.php?part_number=191919376a&x=14&y=5
>Charles
>'85 Westy
>At 08:26 AM 9/3/2006, Warren Lail wrote:
> >Not sure about your blinking light, but a few years ago I had the
> >same symptoms on my 87 GL "Long John." A normal round of short
> >blinks at startup, and then afterward a non-stop blinking
> >situation. If I turned the ignition off and then back on, sometimes
> >it would go back out. However, it was not long afterward that I was
> >driving around in Westcliff, CO, and blew a headgasket. As it
> >turned out, the fan or fan switch (can't remember now) was defective
> >and the engine overheated.
> >
> >I was never sure whether the blinking light and the blown head
> >gasket were related, but after I had the head gasket repaired I also
> >changed the fan, the switch, and the radiator and the problem never
> >came recurred.
> >
> >The (possible) moral of the story: don't ignore those blinking lights!
> >
> >Warren L.
> >88 Westy 2.2 "Billy Bones"
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