Date:         Wed, 20 Mar 1996 12:43:00 -0800 (PST)
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         "Maher, Steve (SD-MS)" <SMAHER@gi.com>
Subject:      Engine temperature non-problem


Here's a problem I wish I'd had with all my cars to date.

When the V6anagon's PO put in the engine, he put the radiator and its
cooling fan in the front, with a diesel-vanagon grille. Not wanting
to create more problems than he already had, he simply wired the
cooling fan to run continuously whenever the ignition was on, even
when the engine was newly started and still cold.

I maintained this scheme, for the same reasons, while I sorted out
other problems. Got the temperature gauge working, and it showed the
car running very cool, 160-170 degrees if you can believe an aftermarket
gauge. The engine also felt/seemed much cooler than the cast-iron V8
in my Mustang, which also runs pretty cool, so I was happy.

Gas mileage continued to suck, though, even after I finally installed
an electric choke and adjusted the idle jets to run a lot leaner than
they had been. Thought that maybe the carb's main jets had been changed
to a larger size, or maybe started that way (PO put it on new, a Holley
2bbl new out of the box), to make up for the poorer fuel vaporization
produced by too-cool running.

Anyway, last night I installed the correct Chevy temperature switch to
turn the cooling fan on and off, and re-wired the fan to use it (through
a relay, as the Citation originally was). Started it up, and the cooling
fan did not come on, which was what I expected of course. With this
temperature switch, it's supposed to come on when the coolant temperature
gets to around 210 degrees., then shut off when the temp drops back to
around 200.

Here's the problem: The engine never gets that hot, even with the cooling
fan not running!

So the cooling fan never comes on. The temperature gauge sometimes rises
higher than it used to, up to right around the 200 mark, but never any
higher. I've driven the van around, hammering on it a little to try to
make it heat up, but no dice-- I haven't heard a peep out of the cooling
fan since putting in this switch. Checked the switch with an ohmmeter
before hooking up the fan-- it's open-circuited at room temperature, as
you would expect. I should have dipped it in boiling water to make sure
it closes, but I'm not that intelligent-- just bought it and screwed it
in. But if the gauge is correct (anyone wanna bet?), then the fan should
indeed not come on, because the engine temp never reaches its trip point.

My question for the list:

All you Diesel-Vanagon and Wasserboxer drivers out there, how long after
you start your engines, does it take for the cooling fan to come on?
Particularly in springtime weather-- it's around 60 degrees here in San
Diego where I'm doing this.

I'm sure I'll have better success(?) making the V6anagon overheat in July
when it's 90 in a traffic jam, and the cooling fan had better come on then,
if not sooner. But right now, I think it's just laughing at me. Wouldn't
be the first time.

Well, I can feel look-daggers coming my way already, due to my "complaining"
about a car that just won't overheat, as well as the mention of 60 degree
evenings in San Diego in March, so I'll close for now.

Thanks in advance, ladies and gents...

 ---------------------------------------------------------------------
 Steve Maher   smaher@gi.com       '80 V6anagon w/Chevy 2800
                                   '66 Mustang Coupevertible, for sale

 Check out the cars at http://www.lookup.com/homepages/76242/home.html

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