Date: Fri, 19 Apr 2013 20:57:03 -0400
Reply-To: David Beierl <dbeierl@ATTGLOBAL.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: David Beierl <dbeierl@ATTGLOBAL.NET>
Subject: Re: Coolant
In-Reply-To: <1366415478.5898.BPMail_high_carrier@web120201.mail.ne1.yah
oo.com>
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At 07:51 PM 4/19/2013, tina canny wrote:
>Hello Guys
> I have a 85 vanagon gl. I had my coolant light go on with the
> needle reaching the top line. I see no leaks. Coolant bottle in van was empty.
> I bought vw coolant and filled it to max I had the same thing
> happen for a minute or so then it went out. Could this be that the
> coolant was circulating in the engine...causing the light to come
> on again. No problems since.
>Thanks for any in sight
>Tina
Hi Tina,
Lessee...our two main weapons. Surprise, fear, and fanatical
devotion to the Pope, our *three* main weapons...
First, the low-coolant detector is located in the pressure bottle
under the engine hatch, not the overflow bottle that you can see
behind the license plate. The pressure bottle normally operates
completely full, no air space at all; and the alarm will come on when
it gets down to the MIN mark on the side, two-and-some inches down.
Second, the system will only suck coolant back from the overflow
bottle as the engine cools down after being at full operating
temperature long enough to purge some air/vapor from the pressure bottle.
Third, fill the pressure bottle to the top with the system cold, and
fill the overflow bottle. Then keep refilling the overflow bottle
over the next several hot-cold cycles until the level stops going down.
Fourth, it sounds as though you have the old-type coolant-level
control module that also causes the gauge to read HOT. It's located
on the left-side cabin wall forward and above the fuse/relay panel,
and it is twice as tall as it is wide, has 42 or 43 painted on
it. You should replace it with the newer short module (cube-shaped)
which can set off the warning blinker without also making the needle
rise appreciably. Then you will be able to distinguish between an
overheat warning and a low-coolant warning.
Finally (for now), any time *any* of the three warning lights (ALT,
OIL, HOT) lights up when you're running down the road, you really
need to stop right then, open up the hatch and determine what's going
on before proceeding farther. No engine tolerates running without
oil pressure, and this engine is not tolerant of overheating.
OIL - stop right away. If you don't have a pressure gauge installed
it's not safe to drive even a short distance without diagnosing the
problem. This likely means towing the vehicle unless you can
diagnose a sender or wiring problem on site. That will hurt, but it
will hurt worse if you drive it just a short way home and then need a
new engine. We've heard too many sad stories here, and they all
start with "It was only half a mile to X, so I..."
HOT - stop right away. If it's too hot it has to cool off, and if
you have a fast coolant leak you can't drive it without damaging it.
See above about sad stories. If you have a slow leak you can drive
to where you can fill it, and with a medium leak you may be able to
limp along a mile or two at a time by stopping to fill the bottle
when the light comes on, until you run out of spare coolant.
ALT - stop right away. If the alternator belt has broken, your water
pump won't work and you can't drive it without overheating (and it
very likely ripped out your dipstick assembly as well). See above
about sad stories. If the belt is not broken, then you can drive for
quite a distance if your battery is in good shape and you don't run
blowers and such unnecessarily.
Yours,
David
