Date:         Mon, 5 Oct 2015 07:25:37 -0700
Reply-To:     vw_van_fan_Mark <madvws@COX.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         vw_van_fan_Mark <madvws@COX.NET>
Subject:      Re: Oil Buzzer advice
In-Reply-To:  <CAHTkEuJUd+U0U-vHLhhuVxBY2tNfmW4tP+d+3HCQKC_df4EBvg@mail.gmail.com>
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The stock coolant level warning led gives the driver ADVANCE warning
that coolant is slightly low and needs to be checked to avoid possible
engine damage from overheating. No add-on gauge is going to do that.
Add-on can only tell you that the engine is running warmer than usual
and even that relies on the flow of liquid across the sender in the case
of a coolant temp gauge. That is a fatal flaw of the add-on. If the
coolant loss is large enough that coolant flow is disrupted the added
temp gauge(s) may be very slow to react and may never read as high as
the actual engine temp.

The blinking leds of the coolant and oil warning systems are intended to
alert the driver to a problem without the need to interpret gauge needle
positions. Are they perfect? No. Are they useful as a whole? Yes.

Mark

Don Hanson wrote:
>
>
>     Observed here often:  Idiot lights and buzzer warning  systems, they
> seem to constitute a rather large percentage of problems reported or
> inquired about here with the Vanagon....Oil buzzer, flickering oil light,
> blinking coolant level sensor....these seem to be the biggest most frequent
> offenders....
>      The problem I have with these systems is when you DO see an indicated
> problem, sent by one of these systems, it only means, to me, that you MAY
> have problems with the system that the signal is supposed to be reporting
> on, or you may have problems with the warning system itself....No way to
> know until you take crap apart and diagnose the reason for the light or
> buzzer.....Also, these idiot lights give no indication of the severity of a
> problem they are supposed to indicate....Is is NO OIL!...or just that you
> may need to up the viscosity or lower your operating temps?   Is it NO
> Coolant left, or just some smut on the probes in the tank?
>     Gauges....my answer.   You can at least get some information from
> them....and when they don't work properly, the needle stays still, or it
> jumps right to the top....you can see something is wrong with the gauge.
> Do you suppose the car makers have made these systems in order to increase
> repair revenue?   They must make a bunch of money hooking up vehicles to
> read codes that are false......
>