Date: Sun, 14 Dec 2014 09:42:40 -0500
Reply-To: Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@HOTMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@HOTMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: My Vanagon's blinking coolant light problem vs other
peoples'---it all blends together
In-Reply-To: <CAHTkEuLxSRoZTpnGusVO-5QPSi2yQASVMvQ8v0-x7X-_c0fApw@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
Being in industry one thing I know is that sensing pressure, temperature, low, level etc. of any fluid can be a challenge. Al these things use low voltage circuits where wiring and interference can cause all sorts of problems. For the Vanagon these situation get compounded by the high percentage of folks learning to maintain things after ownership and often not willing to seek or pay for competent technicians or the proper parts when needed (if available). Yes even that complicated dynamic oil pressure warning system can get your attention when nothing is really wrong. But most of the time they are letting you know something is different.
What I will add is this. I have yet to see a Water Boxer engine actually wear out, at any mileage. Except for those cheap valves in AMC or other rebuilt heads these engines just don’t wear out. As for those outer rubber head gaskets that is just a repair. Even if the heads are corroded under the gasket just clean them up and let the gasket sealer do the job.
Every engine that has needed replacement or major repair such as cracked head, burned valves or pistons, bearings, etc., has failed due or had a history of a fluid system failure. Yes fuel system failures count. Everyone!
Warning lights are used because gauges can also fail or give false readings and most drivers do not know how to interpret them. And then there is the added cost. So the simple good/something wrong approach is what we get.
Right now I have a VDO oil pressure gauge that sometimes tells me I have 15psi oil pressure even before I start the engine. Yes sometimes. I should be happy on days when that 280K water boxer still hold 90 psi oil pressure on the highway. Right!
I have a van here now where both the oil pressure and coolant level systems have been disabled. Yep, engine replacement. Twice. The last installer didn’t fix the mess and quickly cooked that replacement.
Dennis
-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of Don Hanson
Sent: Saturday, December 13, 2014 10:09 AM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: My Vanagon's blinking coolant light problem vs other peoples'---it all blends together
OK, I agree that the low coolant lights on Vanagons are good things, like many have pointed out...they can save your engine... And we have these cited episodes where indeed these things seem to have done that. But nobody has bothered to post those episodes where the light comes on and cuts a trip short when only the warning system is having issues. Nobody mentions jumping out of the van at 2pm during a snow storm to toss everything on the deck lid out to check the cause of the blinky-light and find exactly nothing wrong, other than the low coolant warning system. How many hours of stress do you suppose vanagon drivers have endured trying to decide if the warning is valid or false? and what do you suppose the ratio of false indications to actual low coolant problems is, in the overall world of Vanagon land? Do you NOT go drive the van, in the hope that the warning is real? or do you go with prior experience and ignore the blinker?
A warning system with little assurance of it being real, no good. I can cite plenty of episodes where my low coolant light simply fooled me and caused me problems that were just plain not there.
On Dec 13, 2014 4:50 AM, "Jim Felder" <jim.felder@gmail.com> wrote:
> David,
>
> I actually have, stashed away in my instrument spares, a Vanagon temp
> gauge with the capacitor repair performed by none other than you. I
> got it from you when I was having similar troubles which, unbeknownst
> to me at the time, would be magically solved as a by-product of my
> finally fixing my faulty turn signal wiring and the system's grounds.
>
> Now I guess it is finally time to install!
>
> Jim
>
> On Fri, Dec 12, 2014 at 8:26 PM, David Beierl <dbeierl@attglobal.net>
> wrote:
> >
> > At 09:04 PM 12/12/2014, OlRivrRat wrote:
> >
> >> I have had 2 encounters recently with Vanagons that
> >> displayed the BlinkingCoolantLight@StartUp & Quite ByAccident on
> >>
> >
> > This is a common experience when the timing cap inside the gauge is
> > leaking but not quite enough to fail hard and just blink all the
> > time. Both the key on, wait, key off part and the sensitivity to
> > temperature and especially to humidity. Given the symptoms it's not
> > likely to be anything else. Van Cafe has the gauges for
> > tach-equipped vans and in a pinch I can fix them if you can't, or
> > can't get it done nearby.
> >
> > Yours,
> > David
> >
>
| 
