Date: Wed, 11 May 2011 14:43:10 -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: Maintenance Saga: '84 Westy
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nice long post.
re
Has anybody converted the Bentley diagrams to
ordinary electrical schematics?),
They are quite good actually.
There is one trick that many don't know about these diagrams -
when you are on say track 50 ...
and you come to a wire going to a little box with a say ....46 in it.
to find out where that 46 wire is on the diagram somewhere else..
you 'keep 50 in your mind....go to track 46 then follow up until you see a
box with a 50 in it.
not bad when it's just once or twice in chasing something down ..
but in the later years ..
I have been studying a circuit ..and you have 5 of those..
then indeed, it gets pretty maddening.
but in basic principle...not too bad.
it also helps to know the 'number conventions' ..
these standard german DIN electrical naming conventions..
15 always is 'ignition on' power.
30 is battery I think.
X ...this is a fun one ..this is Ignition On power....except, it's not 'on'
during starter cranking.
If you look at the power supply for the headlight switch ...
you'll see it comes from X power ...and ............sure enough ..headlights
go out ( if they are on ) during starter cranking.
also ...wire colors are standardized.
blue/blk has been the low rpm/low oil pressure warning light switch wire in
all VW's since about 1950.
black/red is often 'start signal' ..
if you know those 3 things ....
then you can be pretty smart with these diagrams.
and there are more hidden and 'secret' tricks about them yet too, I'm sure.
Mildly suprised it passed smog with exhaus leaks.
Exhasut leaks can affect oxygen sensor performance and output too.
scott
www.turbovans.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "Steve Williams" <sbw@SBW.ORG>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Wednesday, May 11, 2011 8:35 AM
Subject: Maintenance Saga: '84 Westy
> What follows is nothing more than a routine tale of some recent work
> I had done on my '84 Wolfsburg camper. It was interesting for me,
> and maybe some part of my experience will be useful to someone else.
>
> In March, I put the camper in storage and flew to New York to visit
> family for a couple of months, not realizing its California
> registration was due within days of my planned return and required a
> smog check!
>
> GoWesty installed my 2.3L waterboxer engine in May, 2009, about
> 30,000 miles ago.
>
> http://www.fuelly.com/driver/sbw/vanagon
>
> Since then, one shop had a little trouble getting the GoWesty engine
> set up just right, since it uses the stock air flow meter and
> computer. I didn't want any trouble with the smog check, so I made
> an appointment at GoWesty for May 6, to check the tuning and then
> take it to Smitty's around the corner for the smog test.
>
> Then I realized it was due for the 30K/2-year service, so I figured
> I'd have GoWesty do that at the same time:
>
> http://www.gowesty.com/library_article.php?id=313
>
> (GoWesty installed an overhauled transmission in November, 2009,
> about 15,000 miles ago, so not all of the 30K service would be needed.)
>
> And I thought I had a minor coolant leak: I had to add a little
> coolant more often than I should, and at the last oil change, the
> bottom of the engine and the oil filter were covered with a crusty
> residue that I suspected was cooked coolant. So I figured I'd ask
> GoWesty to look at that, too.
>
> Oh, and my aux battery wasn't charging. I find the wiring diagrams
> unintelligible (Has anybody converted the Bentley diagrams to
> ordinary electrical schematics?), so I thought I'd let them troubleshoot
> that.
>
> Normally, I'd have this work done at one of the shops in the Bay Area:
>
> - Van Cafe in Santa Cruz
> - Peninsula Automotive in Campbell
> - Fred's Garage in Redwood City
>
> I have family in Santa Cruz, and I've found Van Cafe less expensive
> than GoWesty. But I really wanted GoWesty involved in the smog test.
>
> I returned to Oakland April 30. The Westy fired right up. (I had
> disconnected the batteries, just in case.) After a week of work in
> the Bay Area, I headed down to GoWesty late on May 5, camped at their
> shop, and handed 'em the keys first thing on Friday, May 6.
>
> By lunchtime, the smog test was passed, and I renewed the
> registration on-line with four days to spare!
>
> Back at GoWesty, the mechanic put the camper on the lift and pointed
> out a cracked exhaust pipe, the #1 & #3 pipe adjacent to the water
> pump, which was leaking! Indeed, that same crusty residue was on the
> pump below the drain hole.
>
> That water pump was installed by Van Cafe 13 months before and had
> only 4,500 miles on it. (The warranty is 12 months or 12,000
> miles.) I'm told water pumps fail more often than we'd like, but
> maybe hot exhaust gases accelerated the failure?
>
> There wasn't time to replace the exhaust pipe and water pump that
> Friday, and it was safe enough to drive the camper (Who knows how
> long the exhaust had been cracked?), so I decided to have them finish
> the rest of the work, then drive down to Venice Beach for the
> weekend. It was nice to have the aux battery charging, finally!
>
> On the way to GoWesty, I had driven at 60 mph and saw 21.7
> mpg! That's much better than my average of 18.8 mpg. So I stayed at
> 60 mph on the way to Venice Beach. I was surprised to see 17.9 mpg
> on the first leg.
>
> After a nice weekend at Venice Beach, I headed back to Los Osos. The
> fuel gauge was dropping much faster than I expected, so I stopped for
> gas and was astonished to see 14.8 mpg!
>
> I again camped in GoWesty's lot, then got up early to fill the gas
> tank. I was down to 12.9 mpg!
>
> I added poor fuel economy to the list, and GoWesty got to work. They
> replaced the exhaust pipe and water pump. And they determined the
> oxygen sensor had failed just hours after the successful smog
> check! What are the chances?
>
> https://twitter.com/sbwsty
>
> By mid-afternoon, I was back on the road to the Bay Area. Arriving
> in Santa Cruz, after 3.5 hours slogging along at 60 mph in very
> strong crosswinds, I filled the tank and calculated 17.8 mpg. That's
> a typical number for unfavorable conditions.
>
> Tuesday morning, I stopped by Van Cafe to show them the failed water
> pump. They surprised me by offering partial store credit for the
> pump, which I'll probably apply to some H4 headlights.
>
> The total bill at GoWesty was around $1,500. That's more than I wish
> it was, but I've found they stand by their work. I'm not disappointed.
>
> Now, if I could just get the Propex heater to light!
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