Date: Thu, 10 May 2012 20:28:03 -0400
Reply-To: Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@HOTMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@HOTMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Oil Pressure Lamp? Denoument.
In-Reply-To: <1336695409.35214.YahooMailClassic@web83607.mail.sp1.yahoo.com>
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As they should. But moisture affecting low voltage circuits still indicates
a problem. Either a bad switch or the wiring insulation is failing.
Dennis
-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
Richard Koerner
Sent: Thursday, May 10, 2012 8:17 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: Oil Pressure Lamp? Denoument.
YES!!! All Warning Lights bright at turn of key before starting!!! All go
off after starting, sometimes a blip of throttle to make go off, been like
that for 24 years since I bought Vanagon.
Rich
San Diego
--- On Thu, 5/10/12, Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@hotmail.com> wrote:
From: Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@hotmail.com>
Subject: RE: Oil Pressure Lamp? Denoument.
To: "'Richard Koerner'" <rjkinpb@SBCGLOBAL.NET>, vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Date: Thursday, May 10, 2012, 4:25 PM
Does the Warning light turn on brightly with the ignition on before the
engine is started? If moisture can make a change in any electrical circuit
you have an insulation breakdown that needs to be addressed. Stop fooling
yourself.
Dennis
-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
Richard Koerner
Sent: Thursday, May 10, 2012 6:08 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: Oil Pressure Lamp? Denoument.
I concur! Moderator David B. yesterday correctly diagnosed the faint dull
red glow in my oil pressure LED as possible moisture in the circuit; turns
out I had used a hose to gently wash off the engine compartment and must
have got some on the sender. Once engine came up to temperature, the
moisture evaporated away and so did my false indicator light.
Rich
San Diego
--- On Thu, 5/10/12, Rocket J Squirrel <camping.elliott@GMAIL.COM> wrote:
From: Rocket J Squirrel <camping.elliott@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Oil Pressure Lamp? Denoument.
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Date: Thursday, May 10, 2012, 2:45 PM
Wet oil pressure switch?
Yesterday we put new coolant into my 1.9. Using a "Libby Bong" one can get
quite a gusher out of the bleeder in the engine compartment. Coolant washed
over the oil pressure gauge sender and oil pressure switch which are moved
above the left head when using tencentlife's adapter setup, which I am.
Drove the van briefly yesterday, and there were no warning lamps, everything
read okay. But this morning, I needed to move the van a couple hundred feet
and the oil pressure lamp did not go out even though the oil pressure gauge
read normally. But the lamp was not on at full power, either: it was only at
half-brightness.
I had to run a bunch of errands in Mrs Squirrel's car in the morning, but
after lunch I brought the van back to the driveway, and the oil lamp was
quite dim, but not out. Turned off the engine, connected a voltmeter to the
switch's "hot" terminal and turned on the ignition w/o starting the engine.
Read about 0.5V. Started the engine. Read 10.5 volts.
Puzzled I check the dash lamp -- dark. Revved the engine to kick in the
alternator and the voltage rose to about 11.5 or 12V and the lamp, of
course, was dead dark.
Took it for a long drive, no sign of spurious lamp lightage.
It's my theory that the oil pressure switch was soaked with coolant and
offered a sufficiently low enough resistance to allow current to flow
through the lamp to cause it to partially light. Then it dried out.
Even though a brief check with an ohmmeter showed that a 50/50 mix of
G-05 coolant is about as conductive as distilled water, this is my story and
I'm sticking to it.
--
Jack "Rocket j Squirrel" Elliott
Bend, Ore.
1984 Westfalia. A poor but proud people.
1971 "Ladybug"-brand utility trailer ca. 1972 from a defunct company in San
Clemente, Calif., now repurposed as The Westrailia.