Date: Tue, 1 Sep 2009 00:38:09 -0700
Reply-To: Scott Daniel - Turbovans <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Scott Daniel - Turbovans <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Subject: Re: the case of the curious blinking LED
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If I read this right .......
you turn the key on to energize the glow plugs, and naturally, turning the
key on makes the temp gauge LED flash a few times to tell you it's working.
Then you turn the key to 'start' , it fires up, and the LED flashes again.
I kinda wonder if that's normal even.
I just tested my 83 sunroof diesel vanagon ( for sale btw ).
When I turn on the key, while glow plugging ..........the LED flashes
quickly and continuously.
When I fire it up after waiting half a minute, the LED goes out as the
engine fires up.
It has the single 3 contact, fan switch , the later style radiator etc.
I'm thinking you don't really have a problem.
As long as it comes on at first to tell you it's working , then goes out
after firing up the engine , I don't see a problem.
The LED is not run by or connected with the radiator fan switch.
Unrelated. - if that's what you're thinking.
Your next post mentions the rad fan sensor too.
That LED can blink too easily sometimes - it can be set off by voltage
changes affecting the instrument cluster.
My first vanagon - 82 GL Diesel - liked to set off that light when I put on
the high beams. I'd be driving along on low beams, put on high beams, and
the light would start flashing. Going back to low beams briefly would get
it to not do that, or some trick with the lights.
if you want to check things, I'd suggest checking the voltage stabilizer on
the back of the instrument cluster, and always ...
those grounds on the left , above the fuse box, there's a bunch of ground
wires there with push-on connectors, and they suffer from age and heat, and
get weak, and don't make very good contact anymore. I convert any I find
like that to and eye wire terminal with sheet metal screw.
Ignition switches are always suspect.
I had a case of 'no headlights' on an 86 Doka . The only headlights that
will work are high beams if you hold the stalk pulled towards you.
That turned out to be a bad ignition switch, and not the light switch or
anything else.
Scott
www.turbovans.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "Alan Felder" <dieseldoofus@GMAIL.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Monday, August 31, 2009 5:11 PM
Subject: the case of the curious blinking LED
> Hi Volks - I have recently upgraded my leaking, corroded 82 diesel
> radiator
> to the later model (an 86). The majority of all that has worked out very
> well, in that there are no leaks and the coolant heats up quickly and
> stays
> on the LED like it was nailed there. That's the good parts. When I turn
> the key the LED blinks the 5 times like always, but since this changeout
> which includes the newer 3-wire aux fan temp sensor, it also goes through
> this routine when I turn the key further after the glow plug light has
> gone
> out, as I start the engine.
>
> The installed sensor is used and I did not check it before installation.
> I
> did check the fan (reused my old one) by shorting two of the wires.
> Looking
> back, the sensor is for the 86, where the radiator came from and is a few
> degrees off of that the diesel version is spec'd for. Since filling the
> system with distilled water and radiator flush, it's been working so well
> that the temp has never risen above the LED so its never been hot enough
> for
> the fan to kick in, so I have no knowledge if the sensor is working. We
> are, after all, our own worst enemies, are we not?
>
> My question is this: Is the "double" blinking light sequence just a
> random
> issue or is this some arcane VW warning that is not published?
>
> yours truly,
>
> --
> Alan Felder
> Austin TX
> 82 Diesel Westy
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