Date:         Mon, 16 May 2011 19:04:46 -0700
Reply-To:     BenT Syncro <syncro@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         BenT Syncro <syncro@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: A weird thing that took me forever to solve
Comments: cc: "emaglott3@gmail.com" <emaglott3@gmail.com>
In-Reply-To:  <4dd1c623.23af650a.1bd1.00d6@mx.google.com>
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Guess you and Squirrel missed my story about driving my recently acquired turbo Subie van about 6-7 years ago.

I was driving the San Mateo Bridge across the San Francisco Bay and decided to see what the van can do. It was late and not another vehicle in sight besides my chase vehicle. Floored the accelerator then <whump> noise plus now had what looked like a pair headlights in my mirror.

Both manual mirrors had slapped against the side of the van as I hit 90mph. The brushed cover from the AT shift console was missing and the lamps there were reflecting in the mirror.


BenT
sent from my electronic leash

On May 16, 2011, at 5:49 PM, Edward Maglott <emaglott3@GMAIL.COM> wrote:

> I had the same thing but they lined up with the mirror for me so I
> was pretty sure they were some kind of creepy spook lamps behind
> me.  It didn't help that I usually saw them while touring in WV.
> 
> Edward
> 
> At 07:16 PM 5/16/2011, Rocket J Squirrel wrote:
>> Last year during a long round trip drive from Bend, Ore., to Flathead
>> Lake, Mont., I noticed a strange reflection in the passenger side rear
>> view mirror. It looked like two small incandescent lamps and was only
>> visible when the sun wasn't super-bright, like dusk or dawn. Probably
>> visible after dark, too, but I was camping by then.
>> 
>> Whenever I saw those lamps I looked all around the van to see if I could
>> suss out what the mirror was reflecting. The plane of reflection was
>> about an inch or so behind the plane of the mirror glass so I know those
>> lamps were not some kind of creepy spook lamps behind the van, but a
>> reflection from somewhere inside.
>> 
>> Not until I pulled the cover off the auto shifter console a few weeks
>> ago did I discover that what I was seeing were the two instrument bulbs
>> used to backlight the shifter's PRND21 legend.
>> 
>> Thought I'd share that.
>> 
>> Okay, I'll be on my way now.
>> --
>> Rocky J Squirrel
>> '84 Westfalia: Mellow Yellow ("The Electrical Banana")
>> '74 Westrailia: (Ladybug Trailer company, San Juan Capistrano, Calif.)
>> Bend, OR
>> KG6RCR