Date:         Fri, 23 Sep 2011 08:59:08 -0700
Reply-To:     BenT Syncro <syncro@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         BenT Syncro <syncro@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: flashing coolant light purpose (Friday non-sequitur and long)
In-Reply-To:  <CAHTkEuJ6DT1=PScHLnHypYjD0tRNgYkiFS06BknvcQUOQxK=1Q@mail.gmail.com>
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Don,

I take it you weren't happy with all the blinkin' lights in your 928. Mine was a gray market import. Still had instruments German. Imagine my shock driving it the first time a huge orange triangle with a proportionately large exclamation point flashed in the center of the instrument pod saying something like:

Scheibenwaschwasser

Panic ensued. The Central Warning Computer was telling me there is some sort of water problem... I knew what 'wasser' meant. This was my first water-cooled Porsche having only owned 911's at that point. Exclamation with something water sounded dangerous. Windshield Washer Fluid. Hmmm...

As Scott pointed out on another car, the 928 auto did not have a dipstick either. You can view the fluid level by crawling under the car suitably lifted.

I frequently tool around on a 2004 MB C320. No dipstick for engine. More computer monitoring. There is a nice warning on the oil fill cap that says overfilling can damage the engine. Those in the MB world know how defective oil level sensors have caused owners to render their engines inoperable.

As for the wonderful Vanagon warning light, it worked for me. During the first ten minutes of Vanagon ownership, I had first hand experience with said light. It blinked like the gen light does in air-cooled VW's when you break the fan belt. I figured, what the heck, home is just 3 miles away. There should be enough juice in the battery to get me home at which time, I can just pull a belt swaperoo. I got about two miles when I noticed columns of steam rising out of the rear vents. Hoses were ok. The T-pipe (aka the coolant distribution manifold), crumbled from the heat. Since the warning light warned with sufficient time, the engine survived the ordeal. I finally retired it after 386k miles on the original headgasket. I had driven a 1000+ mile roundtrip in less than 24 hours with a van load of South African T3 parts. Curiously enough, I was bringing the parts to Mark Drillock's neighborhood.


BenT
sent from my electronic leash 

On Sep 23, 2011, at 7:53 AM, Don Hanson <dhanson928@GMAIL.COM> wrote:

>  We just had a long story of how a flashing coolant level light 'saved the

> day' for some one's vanagon with a split hose.  Here's one where the vangaon
>