86 Vanagon Coolant light?

My Cousin was given a 86 Vanagon by a friend who was leaving the country.
He wants to use it but there are a few issues before he can get it smogged
and transferred to he name. He asked to help him since he does not know
anything about engines.

First there is a Light in the middle of the Temp Gauge, it's constantly
flashing. Though the engine does not over heat, it's always flashing.

Second the Fuse box has no diagram of the fuses and relays. There is a
black relay on the lower right, above the fuses, that seems to buzz or trip
when normal temp is reached. I think it may have to do with the Cooling
Fan, but not sure. Is there an owners manual he can download? Or better
yet a Shop Manual.

Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in Advance!

"Rastamon" wrote
> My Cousin was given a 86 Vanagon by a friend who was leaving the country.
> He wants to use it but there are a few issues before he can get it smogged
> and transferred to he name. He asked to help him since he does not know
> anything about engines.
>
> First there is a Light in the middle of the Temp Gauge, it's constantly
> flashing. Though the engine does not over heat, it's always flashing.
>
> Second the Fuse box has no diagram of the fuses and relays. There is a
> black relay on the lower right, above the fuses, that seems to buzz or
> trip when normal temp is reached. I think it may have to do with the
> Cooling Fan, but not sure. Is there an owners manual he can download? Or
> better yet a Shop Manual.
>
> Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in Advance!

Ahhhhh....tell your cousin to Google for T25 Buzzer of Doom regarding the
buzzer.
In the meantime here's a useful link.
http://www.brick-yard.co.uk/VehicleS...3/info/dop.htm

The flashing light *should* only flash for a short time when you turn the
ignition on....if it continues to flash check the coolant level. Then check
for air locks. Check the T-stat is working. Also check the thermoswitch (on
the rad)...these are the easiest things to replace...so start there!
It flashes initially to show you its working.
It only continues to flash if either the coolant level is too low, or the
van is overheating.

Where does his temp needle sit when your friend assumes the engine has
reached 'normal' temp?
It *should* either be bang on top of the light, or up to one needle width
either side...any further left or right and he has problems ;o)

You can find info on what fuse does what he
http://www.brick-yard.co.uk/VehicleS...info/fuses.htm

HTH

Caroline
(who spent a whole summer tearing her coolant system apart, bleeding it
repeatedly and replacing it entirely, including new long pipes & rad, before
she cured her flashy light/needle problems on her '84 T25....)

"caroline" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Rastamon" wrote
>> My Cousin was given a 86 Vanagon by a friend who was leaving the country.
>> He wants to use it but there are a few issues before he can get it
>> smogged and transferred to he name. He asked to help him since he does
>> not know anything about engines.
>>
>> First there is a Light in the middle of the Temp Gauge, it's constantly
>> flashing. Though the engine does not over heat, it's always flashing.
>>
>> Second the Fuse box has no diagram of the fuses and relays. There is a
>> black relay on the lower right, above the fuses, that seems to buzz or
>> trip when normal temp is reached. I think it may have to do with the
>> Cooling Fan, but not sure. Is there an owners manual he can download?
>> Or better yet a Shop Manual.
>>
>> Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in Advance!
>
> Ahhhhh....tell your cousin to Google for T25 Buzzer of Doom regarding the
> buzzer.
> In the meantime here's a useful link.
> http://www.brick-yard.co.uk/VehicleS...3/info/dop.htm
>
> The flashing light *should* only flash for a short time when you turn the
> ignition on....if it continues to flash check the coolant level. Then
> check for air locks. Check the T-stat is working. Also check the
> thermoswitch (on the rad)...these are the easiest things to replace...so
> start there!
> It flashes initially to show you its working.
> It only continues to flash if either the coolant level is too low, or the
> van is overheating.
>
> Where does his temp needle sit when your friend assumes the engine has
> reached 'normal' temp?
> It *should* either be bang on top of the light, or up to one needle width
> either side...any further left or right and he has problems ;o)
>
> You can find info on what fuse does what he
> http://www.brick-yard.co.uk/VehicleS...info/fuses.htm
>
> HTH
>
> Caroline
> (who spent a whole summer tearing her coolant system apart, bleeding it
> repeatedly and replacing it entirely, including new long pipes & rad,
> before she cured her flashy light/needle problems on her '84 T25....)
Thanks for quick response!

After running the engine for about 10 mins the need on the temp gauge is
about on the low side of the flashing light. Though it was about 60 deg
outside at the time. Then the buzzer went off when I rev'd it. I did not
realize until now the door was open, but I'm not sure if that was the cause.
One other thing, is there blower fans don't work, though we'll cross that
bridge when we get the other things fixed.

I'll check on the links you mentioned and post the outcome.

Thanks again!

"Rastamon" wrote
..
> One other thing, is there blower fans don't work, though we'll cross that
> bridge when we get the other things fixed.

Assuming you mean the blower for the heater, ie windscreen demister
etc...that's not a fun job....involves removing the dash, pretty much all of
it, as far as I'm aware So, check the fuses first...and hope that its as
simple as a blown fuse, and that you don't need to replace the fan...

Burnt my fan motor out the other weekend, on a very wet day out in the
city....but the bearings have been squealing for a while on setting 3, then
2 and finally number 1, followed by a suspicious burning smell and no more
'fan' noise....so, having sourced a replacement blower fan unit I'm just
building up the motivation to remove the dash and everything else that needs
to come out...a few more icy, cold mornings and I'll get it done <grin>

"caroline" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Rastamon" wrote
> .
>> One other thing, is there blower fans don't work, though we'll cross that
>> bridge when we get the other things fixed.
>
> Assuming you mean the blower for the heater, ie windscreen demister
> etc...that's not a fun job....involves removing the dash, pretty much all
> of it, as far as I'm aware So, check the fuses first...and hope that its
> as simple as a blown fuse, and that you don't need to replace the fan...
>
> Burnt my fan motor out the other weekend, on a very wet day out in the
> city....but the bearings have been squealing for a while on setting 3,
> then 2 and finally number 1, followed by a suspicious burning smell and no
> more 'fan' noise....so, having sourced a replacement blower fan unit I'm
> just building up the motivation to remove the dash and everything else
> that needs to come out...a few more icy, cold mornings and I'll get it
> done <grin>
>
I know the feeling, I had to replace the blower motor in my Mom's Volvo
years ago. Not an easy job. Even the techs at the dealership hate doing it.

caroline wrote:
> "Rastamon" wrote
> .
>> One other thing, is there blower fans don't work, though we'll cross that
>> bridge when we get the other things fixed.
>
> Assuming you mean the blower for the heater, ie windscreen demister
> etc...that's not a fun job....involves removing the dash, pretty much all of
> it, as far as I'm aware So, check the fuses first...and hope that its as
> simple as a blown fuse, and that you don't need to replace the fan...
>
> Burnt my fan motor out the other weekend, on a very wet day out in the
> city....but the bearings have been squealing for a while on setting 3, then
> 2 and finally number 1, followed by a suspicious burning smell and no more
> 'fan' noise....so, having sourced a replacement blower fan unit I'm just
> building up the motivation to remove the dash and everything else that needs
> to come out...a few more icy, cold mornings and I'll get it done <grin>
>
>
If yer talking about $130 squirrel cage blower with the motor inside it,
pity no way to lube the motor bearings. It burnt out the resistor, too.
Made it 1 winter with 2 small 12 volt computer fans and some duct tape!
Replacing the blower in a Rabbit, we did it from the engine compartment,
had to bend the sheet metal on the air tray a bit to get it in and out,
but bent it back OK.

"Rich" wrote
> caroline wrote:

>> Burnt my fan motor out the other weekend, on a very wet day out in the
>> city....but the bearings have been squealing for a while on setting 3,
>> then 2 and finally number 1, followed by a suspicious burning smell and
>> no more 'fan' noise....so, having sourced a replacement blower fan unit
>> I'm just building up the motivation to remove the dash and everything
>> else that needs to come out...a few more icy, cold mornings and I'll get
>> it done <grin>
> If yer talking about $130 squirrel cage blower with the motor inside it,
> pity no way to lube the motor bearings. It burnt out the resistor, too.
> Made it 1 winter with 2 small 12 volt computer fans and some duct tape!
> Replacing the blower in a Rabbit, we did it from the engine compartment,
> had to bend the sheet metal on the air tray a bit to get it in and out,
> but bent it back OK.

Yup that's the one....I have a replacement, a total bargain at ?10 <grin>
Works perfectly, and silently....and have lubed the bearings anyway just to
be sure...they are easy to access when the unit is sitting the workshop
floor ha ha!

Now to sum up the motivation to pull my entire dash out....ho hum!

My T25 is a camper conversion. so when I know its going to be icy, and I
need to leave early in the morning, I've been plugging the hookup in to the
house, and leaving a heater on inside the camper all night....result =
toasty van, and no frozen windscreen! But its PITA to remember and get
organised the night before.

Coolant temp sensor