Date:         Sun, 26 Jul 1998 16:50:09 -0700
Reply-To:     Ari Ollikainen <Ari@RICOCHET.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <Vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         Ari Ollikainen <Ari@RICOCHET.NET>
Organization: OLTECO
Subject:      Re: AC and engine temps
Comments: To: Vanagon@VANAGON.COM
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

t bill wrote:
>
> > > The fan would come on appropriately (However, there seems to be only 1 fan
> > > speed),and no lights on the dash would light up.
> >
> > Everything you mentioned sounded normal to me except for this one line.
> > There should be a high and low speed for the fan.  The high speed should
> > kick in as the needle creeps up past the led middle range.  I would check
> > to make sure that the fan motor, switches and sensors are operating pro-
> > perly to make sure that the fan works at the higher speed when it is
> > supposed to.
> >
> It also occurs to me that when traveling at high speeds he may not be
> able to hear the high speed come on. Let is sit at idle to check it.

        Having my HIGH-speed fan come on for the first time since I've owned a
        wasserboxer Vanagon during slow'n'go traffic climbing the Sepulveda Pass on
the
        405 Freeway in LA with air on and the OAT at ~95, I'm absolutely positive
that he
        ought to know IF it came his high-speed fan came on: RRRRRRRRRRRRR! Shocked
the
        bejabbers out of me...I actually thought I'd broken something or the AC condenser
        had burst, or ... The temp needle was about a needle width from the first white
        line toward the hot side after the LED. Noise quit shortly after cresting the
        pass and the traffic speeded up to 60-65mph.
>
> > As a side note, I've noticed that my higher speed kicks in more often
> > than it used to.  I suspect either a tired thermo-switch or.... my
> > radiator core has some hot spots....  :(
>
        Me too :-(

        Climbing up from the SanFernando Valley toward Santa Clarita beyond the
        Newhall interchange on I-5 the same thing happened at 67mph (3900rpm) with
        the ambient OAT now at 97.5...

        There *are* 3 fan speed, are there not? The low speed comes on when the AC is
        turned on, the middle speed as required when the coolant temp rises, and the
        RRRRRRoarer comes on before things get seriously bad...;-)

> Me too!  I've been blaming it on this Texas heat.  Normally the temp
> gauge doesn't get past the LED light, but when it's 100 and the AC is
> blowing it goes right on up there to when the high fan speed comes on.
>  Especially when I'm going around 70.  Not bad if speed is around 60.
> RPM's seem to make a big difference!
>
> Thinking of installing a manual switch on the dash to turn the high
> speed fan on.  On the hot days I could just turn it on when the temp
> goes past the half way mark and leave it on.
>
> Thots?

        Cleaning the condenser of accumulated road crud and insectoid body parts
        and the radiator for proper air flow might help...I took a look at mine
        before the current trip to LA and discovered that I couldn't see through
        the condenser to the radiator. I tried spraying with medium pressure water
        through it but I might actually have compacted the crud between the cooling
        fins instead of dislodged it.

        Any discussion of a proper procedure for cleaning condenser (and radiator)
        on AC equipped Vanagons?


--
   OLTECO               Ari Ollikainen
   P.O. BOX 3688        Networking Technology and Architecture
   Stanford, CA         Ari@OLTECO.com
   94309-3688           415.517.3519