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Date:         Fri, 21 Mar 1997 23:35:41 -0500
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         Leavitt <mleavitt@tiac.net>
Subject:      Re: oil light help???

Brian Ratliff wrote: > > HELP again..... > > My oil light is not working on 86 vanagon....I have check the sending > unit...ok....took apart the dash and changed the bulb attached to that > strange circuit board with known working bulb??? STILL no oil light??? > > what do i check next???? > Thanks Brian > > 86 gl and 82 diesel

I believe that on an '86 the oil pressure light on the dash is actually an LED(light emitting diode) and they last virtually forever. So it's probably something else amiss in the circuit. The system is pretty simple, when oil pressure drops too low an electrical connection is made in the sending unit which lights the LED on the dash. How did you check the sender? A multi-meter is ideal, but you can use a regular 12v bulb with two leads coming off of it. With the engine off but with the ignition in the 'ON' position, the bulb should light up when you touch one lead to a positive voltage and the other to the brass contact on the end of the sender. With the engine running (plenty of oil pressure) the bulb shouldn't light when you repeat the test. If the sender appears to test out okay and the lead that goes on the end of it is making a good connection then you might have a break in the wiring leading to the LED. You can test for this simply by touching that lead to any ground such as the engine block (also with the ignition 'on' and the engine not running). You will have to stick something metallic into the end of the lead to ground it because of it's plastic cover. If the LED on the dash lights up then the wiring is okay. If it doesn't then I would make sure that the plusg to the dash are well connected. There isn't much more to check in the circuit. HTH

Noel VOLKSWAGEN _--````--_ / _--````--_ \ / / \ \ / / \ \ '81 Vanagon Westy | | \ \ \/ / / | | '68 Sunbug Autostick | |\ \ )--( / /| | (named Vana) | | \ \/ /\ \/ / | | (named Rachel) \ \_\ / \ /_/ / \ _``----``_ / ``----`` 1937--1997


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