Date: Mon, 30 Sep 2013 23:31:05 -0500
Reply-To: Jeff Palmer <jpalmer@MYMTS.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Jeff Palmer <jpalmer@MYMTS.NET>
Subject: Re: Blinking temperature light
In-Reply-To: <CA+rcdKXi36Rzxg2PF0ZmBBhwa+dnpv9Sqof+EAqGUMu2WCiL1w@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Most awesome post ever!! I was on holidays and unsubscribed when this was posted. My 85 temp light flashes forever upon startup, particularly if it's humid. Replaced the sensor and cleaned the contacts, no luck. Will try a new temp gauge I guess.
Thanks
Jeff
85 Westfalia with gauge that blinks, but temp needle works just fine
On 2013-09-30, at 10:05 AM, Goetz Aust wrote:
> Another update to my flashing temp signal. Two months later and another
> 1,000 miles and the issue never repeated itself. I never added a drop
> of coolant but I did do two things when I got home: 1) cleaned the top
> contacts for the pressure tank sensor, and 2) tightened the blue pressure
> cap on the pressure bottle at least 90 deg more than where it was
> originally set at (done by hand no tools). Originally I had only tightened
> it to the original position.
>
> I'm now wondering if its possible that with the cap not quite tight and
> when the system was sucking hard that air would get into the pressure
> bottle via the cap and cause the temerature light to flash. Then when I was
> stopped the coolant would flow back into the pressure tank pushing the air
> out but not the coolant. The opening in the cap thread may have been large
> enough to allow air to flow but not the coolant. Essentially running
> without an expansion tank.
>
> Remember I'm an engineer with little mechanical aptitude.
>
>
> On Mon, Jul 29, 2013 at 4:12 PM, David Beierl <dbeierl@attglobal.net> wrote:
>
>> At 02:36 PM 7/29/2013, Eric Wunrow wrote:
>>
>>> I'm a Newbie but chased a similar issue for days... the light would
>>> blink and immediately register full hot. In my uneducated opinion
>>> the system is designed to show full hot when the expansion tank
>>> thinks there's not enough fluid, the gauge would literally go from
>>> normal to "overheating" within a few seconds. But it wasn't
>>> overheating, the blue cap was bad so it was more of a pressure
>>> problem. What I think the gauge was telling me was the system is
>>> saying "GIVE ME COOLANT!"
>>>
>>
>> It sounds as though you have the early controller on an '83-4 or
>> maybe early '85. The threshold to turn on the blinker is the bottom
>> of the overheat zone on the gauge, and the old controllers would
>> simply do that continuously.
>>
>> The newer controllers send brief pulses that will start the light
>> blinking but not materially affect the gauge position.
>>
>> I heartily recommend you get one of the newer controllers which will
>> eliminate the confusion.
>>
>>
>>
>> I've also learned that ambient temperature has little or nothing to
>>> do with coolant temperature levels. I presume and it seems obvious
>>> that the coolant temp will run higher under load (hills, et al)
>>> and/or in high ambient air temps, but that doesn't mean the temp
>>>
>>> will be lower under normal load on a cool day.
>>>
>>
>> That's why there's a thermostat. The engine (any engine) has to run
>> hot or various bad things will happen. This particular engine has a
>> rather wide control range on the thermostat, much wider than we're
>> used to seeing on modern Toyotas for example where the needle looks
>> as though it's painted on the gauge most of the time. The WBX needle
>> will rise a couple needle widths before the radiator fan comes on,
>> and then ?a couple more? before it shifts to high speed. At that
>> point the thermostat in the engine is still not fully open.
>>
>>
>>
>> My gauge also blinks many times at startup,
>>>
>>
>> That's the symptom of a leaky 10 uF capacitor in the gauge blinker
>> circuit. It will gradually get worse until it never shuts off at
>> all, and in the mean time it will be flaky depending on humidity and
>> such. It's replaceable but right now Van Cafe has complete temp
>> gauges for tachometer panels for about what I would charge to replace
>> the capacitor.
>>
>>
>> as does the Oxygen sensor gauge.
>>>
>>
>> Any time the ALT light is on the OXS light will also be on. This was
>> implemented as a lamp test for the OXS light, so you can see it come
>> on when you turn on the key. The light itself is meaningless except
>> as a reminder; it turns on every 30,000 or 60,000 miles depending on
>> what year van you have, and stays on until you reset it manually.
>>
>>
>> At any point that I blip the throttle, all the blinking idiot lights
>>> stop.
>>>
>>
>> It sounds as though yours is one of the ones where you have to blip
>> the throttle to start the alternator charging. My '84 was that way
>> and according to the owner's manual that's a normal situation.
>>
>>
>> Yours,
>> David
>>
>
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