Date:         Mon, 2 Jun 2014 10:37:43 -0400
Reply-To:     Marc Perdue <mcperdue@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Marc Perdue <mcperdue@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: Electrical problem?
In-Reply-To:  <COL130-W8A0EA841B3D1DAD92DF9CB8200@phx.gbl>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8

Jeff,

It's a Blauplunkt; they can do anything!

Seriously, here's an update on my electrical issues:
1) Tightened the alternator belt. The squeal is gone and the alternator's
putting out 13.99 V at idle. :)
2) I bought a clamp-on ammeter, stuck it on the battery's negative cable,
as the guy at Advance Auto had done, and got the same measurement he did.
Since my van is on the street, I couldn't safely pull fuses there, so I
backed the van down into the driveway and put the ammeter back on. Current
draw was now .01 amps. ??? I opened the door to get out to do something,
and the draw went up to where it had been. Doh...

Now, to be fair, or rather, to not beat myself up too badly, I don't think
I had the door open when the other guy was checking draw, but I'm not
positive. In addition, my driver's door switch, that turns on the dome
light, has been acting flaky, so the dome light may not have been on. At
any rate, I pulled out the switch, cleaned it, re-installed it. It works
great now!

So, now I'm going to drive my van a few times this week and, this weekend,
we'll take my 20-month-old son to Nature Camp, where he'll have his first
Westy camping experience!!! Then I'll start taking my van apart... Woohoo!

Marc

On Sun, Jun 1, 2014 at 10:02 PM, Jeff Palmer <jpalmer@mymts.net> wrote:

> My Blaupunkt Toronto stereo remembered my radio settings and Bluetooth
> connection over the winter - with the battery disconnected. How did it do
> that??
>
> Jeff
>
> > Date: Sat, 31 May 2014 20:00:50 -0700
> > From: dug@DUGBERT.COM
> > Subject: Re: Electrical problem?
> > To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> >
> > Hi Marc,
> >
> > A drain of 1/2A sounds pretty high - I'd start by pulling fuses and see
> > what circuit's causing this draw.  The only things I can think of that'd
> > be on all the time are the clock and power to the radio to keep the
> > memory settings.  I'm pretty sure even I could do that at home :o)
> >
> > 7V sounds low, but with a constant drain of 1/2A, that's 12Ah a day, so
> > yeah, it could happen.
> >
> > I've found that new belts often stretch a bit as they bed in, and the
> > squealing suggests that's at least part of the problem.
> >
> > I get a battery voltage of comfortably over 13V when the engine's
> running.
> >
> > On 5/31/2014 7:52 PM, Marc Perdue wrote:
> > > Hi all,
> > >
> > > I've been experiencing what may or may not be a problem on my '87
> Westy.
> > > For reasons tied to it running rough, possibly injectors, and its
> impending
> > > painting, I haven't been driving it much. It might sit a week or two
> > > without being driven. When I do go to drive it, usually the battery's
> much
> > > too weak to get it started. I plug in the charger, set it to 10 Amps,
> and
> > > let it charge for a few hours, after which I can usually get it
> started.
> > > Once it starts, there's usually a lot of belt squeal. This is odd
> because I
> > > had both belts replaced and adjusted by a reputable Vanagon mechanic in
> > > Staunton about 1,000 miles ago. The battery is a Diehard and was
> replaced
> > > within the last year. Thinking I might have an alternator problem, I
> took
> > > it to Advance Auto and had the alternator tested, in the van. It
> passed,
> > > but just barely. Under full load, it was putting out just over 12
> volts.
> > > With everything turned off, there was still a current draw of about
> half an
> > > amp. Is this normal? I've been going through the van cleaning all the
> > > grounds and repairing any connections that look at all iffy.
> > >
> > > I'm going to tighten up the alternator belt tomorrow and thought I
> would
> > > give the alternator a spin and see if I could tell anything. Thoughts
> on
> > > what to look for?
> > >
> > > Should the battery normally run down to 7 volts or so in a week or two?
> > >
> > > Any thoughts on other things to look for? I don't have a way of
> measuring
> > > current draw at home, or else I would start disconnecting things and
> see if
> > > that half amp draw changed.
> > >
> > > Thanks in advance for any light you can shed on this!
> > > Marc Perdue
> > >
> >
> > toodle pip,
> > --
> >         Dug Smith         | Terry Pratchett: It's almost
> > (mailto:dug@dugbert.com) | impossible to ride a rock and roll
> > (http://www.dugbert.com) | motorbike and stay on for three verses.
>
>