Date:         Sun, 23 May 2010 11:44:55 -0400
Reply-To:     David Beierl <dbeierl@ATTGLOBAL.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         David Beierl <dbeierl@ATTGLOBAL.NET>
Subject:      Re: Water tank level gauge on '91 Westfalia
Comments: To: gneiss9 <gneiss9@GMAIL.COM>
In-Reply-To:  <72111C22-FB64-4EA0-9C32-05CCF2EC5B6C@gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed

At 10:33 PM 5/22/2010, gneiss9 wrote:
>Hey everyone,
>
>Has anyone run into the following problem?  The float moves freely
>within the tank but doesn't register anything other than green (100%
>full).  Over the winter I lengthened my pump hose (so that the pump
>would sit flat within the tank and not leave any water un-useable)
>but other than that I've not modified anything else in the water
>system.  The float was sitting at the bottom of the empty tank last
>time I had it open (with green light illuminated on the gauge).

Dear Trevor,

By flat I assume you mean vertical, with the end of the pump resting
on the tank bottom?   If so you might want to check to be sure that
the pump has some sort of standoff on the bottom so that water can
easily get in to the intake.  It's been a long time since I've been
inside one of those tanks; I forget what the pump looks like precisely so YMMV.

Re the water LEDs -- unplug the sender at the tank, being *very*
careful not to yank on the sender leads.*  No harm doing this with
the panel turned on. Check the LED -- if all three are dark it's no
doubt a sender problem and we can discuss that further.  If it
still  shows green, then look for +12 at the green wire of the sender
connector.  If yes, then you have a bad chip on the left side of the
panel circuit, and we can discuss *that* further.  My working guess
is bad chip; it's not uncommon.  Meantime, treat that sender wand as
though it was precious (fairly) and infinitely delicate.  In
particular, do not bend it even a millimeter, as if you get the
direction wrong it will burst the upper switch.  Horrible design.  I
seriously recommend removing the sender before putting your hand or
definitely a garden hose inside the tank.


* Here's a post from long ago describing the float-type sender used
on late Westys:
http://gerry.vanagon.com/cgi-bin/wa.exe?A2=ind0001A&L=vanagon&P=R22761

Yours,
David