Date:         Wed, 31 Jul 2019 17:08:01 +0000
Reply-To:     Keith Hughes <keithahughes@YAHOO.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Keith Hughes <keithahughes@YAHOO.COM>
Subject:      Re: vanagon Digest - 30 Jul 2019 - Special issue (#2019-193)
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8

 Mark - yes that's '85...

Mine has the second stage (medium speed) relay in position 5 of the fuse panel, however the low speed relay is mounted on the top of the fuse panel in one of the "slide in" positions. It's powered through the A/C switch so it's on whenever the A/C is running. It does have the 70A relay and 50A fuse strip on the column as well, and has the 450W fan. Took me a while to trace down all the wiring and write it in my Bentley to have some kind of reference. Had to add evap fan relays as well since the full current for all 3 speed went through the unobtanium switch and kept melting it.

The pressure switch was installed in the high pressure hose on the compressor discharge line and appeared to be original (van was 7 yrs old when I bought it so it could have been modified but didn't appear to be). When I did the Tiico conversion I replaced it with a trinary switch so the compressor stayed on until the second stage. First stage kicked on the high speed fan relay. It also came with a SD-508 early style compressor with very odd fittings/spacing that I had great difficulty adapting to when I replaced all the hoses. With the GenV conversion all of that has been replaced, and I upgraded the evap to the later version. On 134A it works quite well until the temp gets over ~110F with the sun beating on it. Not as cool as I'd like at that point, but far better than stock.

Keith Hughes
> '86 Westy GenV Turbo (Marvin)

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Date: Tue, 30 Jul 2019 16:14:26 -0700
From: vw_van_fan_Mark <madvws@COX.NET>
Subject: Re: Wiring Challenge -- Bentley page 97.68 -- Wire H6 (Rad. Cool Fan
 Thermoswitch)

In 86+ the relay above the fuse panel is normally a 70 amp relay with a
50 amp strip fuse attached. It is for the direct HIGHEST speed of the
bigger 450 watt fan used in various 86+ models, and also has a dedicated
red power wire from the battery. Vans with the smaller 300 watt fan
motor use a 30 amp relay in position 5 of the main relay panel for high
speed and use the 30 amp fuse in position #1 of that panel for high and
low speeds. That relay in that #5 spot is re-wired to the fan resistor
for middle speed in models with 450 watt fans and 3 fan speeds. It is
true that some seemingly odd wiring variations are sometimes found in
early 86 Westy models. It sounds like someone used the wrong relays for
the middle and high fan speeds on your van, assuming it also had the 450
watt motor.

I assume you meant your 86 was built late Aug of 85. Otherwise it is a
very late 86 and those started to implement the later Westy A/C setup
and did have pressure switches. Where exactly was the pressure switch
located?

Mark


Keith Hughes wrote:
> Not entirely accurate. My late August '86 has/had the same dealer installed system, yet had the high pressure switch installed. The switch kicked in the HIGH speed on the fan, and shut off the compressor clutch until the radiator temp dropped. Mine was wired to turn the fan on low speed when the A/C kicked in, go up to second/middle speed when the radiator temp switch called for the fan, and High speed was only when the switch called for it or the A/C pressure switch called for it.
>
> There's also a 2nd stage fan relay above the fuse panel that kicks in with the A/C switch turned on. My guess is there are a number of variations in how these systems were installed. I've since completely modified and rewired my system with a custom cabinet and the larger later model evaporator and fans, larger parallel flow condenser, plus an additional fan that blows air forward through the passenger side fresh air duct. I also have a switch to kick in the 2nd stage fan anytime I have to idle with the a/c running. Low doesn't cut it when you're idling at 116F.
>
> Keith Hughes
> '86 Westy GenV Turbo (Marvin)

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