re The oil pressure lamp never came on, so I let the engine run and idle a few moments, then shut it off. Is there a way to test the oil pressure lamp?" Have you been operating your van all this time without a working oil pressure warning light ? ( I see that now and then on vanagons ) . it's a normal part of starting the van to turn the key to 'on' ... watch for the warning lights to come on, telling you that they are working. Then start the van. but no.. there is no way to test that OP warning light system. you have to throw away the entire van . no silly .. it's super easy to check. a very basic circuit. the hardest part could be getting the oil pressure switch, 'if' you need to .. since it's under the left lower tin cover and those can be a bother to get off sometimes. you man be able to check out the whole circuit without actually accessing the OP switch. I just use a 12 volt test light to troubleshoot that circuit.
----- Original Message ----- From: "Rocket J Squirrel" <camping.elliott@GMAIL.COM> To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM> Sent: Sunday, May 22, 2011 4:09 PM Subject: Can this do that?
>I just installed tencentlife's external oil cooler kit. The instructions > were to then start the engine, wait for the oil pressure lamp to go out, > then shut it off and top off the oil. > > The oil pressure lamp never came on, so I let the engine run and idle a > few moments, then shut it off. > > Is there a way to test the oil pressure lamp? > > I check the oil level and before we started the work, the oil was just > above the lower notch on the dipstick. Now it was off the bottom end. So > I put in a quart and re-started the engine. > > It sounded like crap. Couldn't hold a idle, rattled like drained down > hydraulic lifters. Shut it off, check oil level. Still below the > dipstick, added more, restarted. Could barely idle. There were gulping > sounds coming out of the oil filler neck. > > Shut off, add more oil now it's above the lower notch and idling and > sounding fine. > > Could low oil level cause the thing to struggle so? > > PS -- so far no drops, and once the engine gets warm, the external > cooler heats right up, indicating functioning thermostat action. > > -- > Rocky J Squirrel > '84 Westfalia: Mellow Yellow ("The Electrical Banana") > '74 Westrailia: (Ladybug Trailer company, San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) > Bend, OR > KG6RCR |
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