Date:         Thu, 7 Sep 2006 16:40:34 -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
In-Reply-To:  <44FFA49B.9000001@earthlink.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed

Here's where things stand with my blinking coolant level light:

All grounds clean and sound.  Coolant sensor works.  Replaced the
coolant level control module (relay).. No change.    So I threw up my
hands and took it back to my mechanic.

Unfortunately, it's not clear how much he knows about what.  He
thought the coolant control module was on the printed circuit behind
the instrument cluster and said I had replace the wrong thing until I
showed him the part and he called VW verifying that what I replaced
was in fact the coolant level control module.  In any event, he said
that the light would stop blinking when he turned the headlights on
and off repeated.  They he wiggled on the wiring harness which runs
across the back above the muffler.  He discovered that it was melted,
or at least the plastic cable retainer was sort of melted.  After he
wiggled on it, the light switch routine wouldn't work any more.

He determined, then, that my relay is working and current is coming
out of it, but it's not being received by the flashing light unit,
apparently.  He's convinced that the problem lies either in the
printed circuit on the instrument cluster unless the "melted" wiring
has caused some sort of short or current leakage  .  So I told him to
put it back together again, and I'd look at the wiring harness before
committing to a new printed circuit.  This is where it stands now.

What do you all think of this?  Have you ever had the rear wiring
harness melt?  It's in a stupid place, I must admit, but still.  Have
any of you every had problems with the printed circuit behind the
instrument panel?

Would appreciate your views.  I'm at my wits end.

Charles
'85 Westy