Date:         Thu, 6 Jul 1995 23:32:02 -0700
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         rickgo@halcyon.com (Rick Gordon)
Subject:      Gauges and stuff

Well, I broke down and bought gauges for my '80 camper. Now of course I've
got to figure out the cable routing. So far it looks to me that all the
cables
are attached to the frame member, hidden from view by that big metal plate thats
bolted onto the middle of the van. Is there an easier way or should I just
bite the bullet and drop this plate?

Also, any recommendations on mounting the gauges? I've ordered (and not yet
received) some black plastic panels from Rocky Mt MotorWerks, mainly
because thats all they had. But I'm not sure yet how I'm going to fasten it
all together. Clues welcome.

Boy, I love those wiring instructions that come with VDO gauges too. Only
took me a little while to figure out that it was telling me to wiring up
the gauge (light) to the headlamp switch. Blurred picture of a switch I
guess.

Rather than a drain plug sensor I bought a dipstick sensor. Does this give
you a better reading? Or is it simply more of a pain to disconnect when you
check the
oil level?

Oh, and something moderately related:
my 2nd battery is completely dead. I wasn't using it much last winter, but
never did replace the wiring leading to it to make sure I had sufficient
voltage to charge it. What can I say, I'v been too busy trying to get
products to ship! I deep-discharged it a few times, and didn't sufficiently
charge it back up.
So anyway, I left the dead battery in there, but disconnected its ground.
It's still connected to my alternator-switched relay though so that the
positive cable is still getting voltage when the engine is running. My
camper power pack is wired directly to the positive lead, so it's also
getting power.
So right now, I can at least run the fridge on electric when the motor
runs, which gets me to where I can turn on the propane. (the fridge never
gets *that* cold when running off of battery anyway, but it keeps it in the
50's (F) at least.
But I'm wondering if this is the best way to run the thing - because I can
see the fridge light (and the electric clock that's in mine) flicker
sometimes. I'm thinking that maybe I'm not getting *that* steady a voltage
or something. With the battery in the circuit it was at least providing
some *buffering* of the current coming off the alternator. Any thoughts on
this setup? Do I need a battery in there to smooth things out?

-rick

Rick Gordon
Bainbridge Island, WA, USA
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