Blinking coolant light

[IOSilver]

Hi,

My '85 vanagon's coolant light blinks continuously.
When I 1st noticed it I took it to Bugformance right away & they told me
there's nothing wrong with the coolant. The problem is with the sensor in the circuit board. Aprox $250 to pull the dash & repair it.
I had them check everything else out & they said all looks well, runs good.

I said for $250, I'll put up with the light. The temp gauge still works & it never goes above half-way even when I drive it hard.
Is it safe to just go by what the temp guage tells me & ignore the blinking light as long as I make sure the oil & coolant levels are topped off?

I inherited this Van so to speak. My husband & I bought it years ago & he mostly restored it before he died (put in a stronger rebuilt engine, etc.
It has a lot of new parts & some old original parts I expect will be giving out on me over time.
I like camping so I decided to keep it but I'm not very savvy when it comes to mechanics.
I know I could pay someone a large fortune for repairs but I'd rather not unless they're truely necessary. Is this one I can safely skip?

Thanks for your advice.

This is a great site, full of answers & helpful advice for someone like me.
You helped me with a sink leak & a mirror install so far today.
Thank you thank you thank you!

[Alaric.H]

The sensor in the circuit board? that's a new one I would check the sensors on the engine block there are 2 on the last one I worked on had a low and a high. But first I would do a oil pressure test which will be easy since you are going to be taking out one of the senders anyway.
The easy one is on the bottom drivers side engine but you will have to take off the heat shield I believe it is the low sender do that one first.

[Volksaholic]

A stock 1.9 liter would only have the one oil pressure sender, and '85 would have a 1.9 by default. Now when you say your husband put a "stronger rebuilt engine" in it makes me wonder if he went with an '86 & later 2.1L engine which would have both the high and low pressure senders. It's possible that he went that route and didn't get things wired up properly.

You can certainly drive the van with the light blinking if you're sure the oil pressure is okay, but the problem is you don't really have any way of knowing if you lose oil pressure until the engine starts knocking. If this thing has a good engine, I think you should find a way to get the oil pressure warning system working so a simple problem is less likely to take out the engine.

If one of the control boards has flaked out you should be able to find a used one in TheSamba classifieds for less that $250.

Paul
_________________
1988 Wolfsburg Edition, 2001 Subaru EJ251

[IOSilver]

Sorry, my wording didn't really make sense. It's so obvious I don't know
anything about this stuff, lol

According to Bugformance, the circuit board behind the dash is faulty & causing a false reading so the light blinks even though there's nothing really wrong with the coolant.

This only started happening recently. The rebuilt has been in there since 2002 I believe. Installed shortly after we bought the van. I don't know what kind it is because I haven't found any paperwork but I do remember him saying it was more powerful than the engine that comes stock.

The van sat parked on battery tenders for years in non-op status.
We'd start it up occasionally just to circulate the oil through the engine but never drove it. The light always went out shortly after starting it then.

It wasn't until this year when I decided to smog, register & get it road ready for a move that I noticed the light wouldn't go out.
That's when I took it to Bugformance.
I asked them to make sure it was in shape for a 500 mile trip so they checked it out pretty thoroughly, changed the oil, coolant, etc. & took it for a test drive. They said your circuit board is faulty but everything else looks okay & it runs well.

[randywebb]

find the numeric code that is stamped on the engine and post it here
_________________
1986 2.1L Westy 2wd Auto Trans.

[DAIZEE]

Don't ever apologize for your level of knowledge on a Vanagon. Someone else always knows more. Ask your questions and you will get answers.

[crazyvwvanman]

The 85 vans did not have the dash oil circuit board that blinks the led. That was not introduced until 86 vans. The vin number determines the model year so what are the last 8 digits of your vin# on the dash?

Mark

[stevey88]

[trihartsfield]

When I bought my van about 5 months ago I had the same problem. All I had to do was change to a thicker oil. I went to 20/50 blended synthetic and I have not had the light come on since. I will be upgrading toi full synthetic next oil change.
_________________
1971 Transporter-SOLD
1982 Westy Will grow up into a TDI

[crazyvwvanman]

Of course, but to help in any detailed way with what has been diagnosed as a wiring problem we are going to need to know what wiring diagram to use as a base. The vin# is where to start.

It would not surprise me to learn that the blinking led in question is the coolant led. The owner doesn't seem too familiar with the vehicle at this point.

Mark

[VisPacem]

[IOSilver]

Sorry, I was wrong..

& Mark is right. I am not familiar with this vehicle.
I'm a woman trying to assume my late husband's responsibilities & it's obvious I have a LOT to learn about cars, lol

According to the owner's manual (& I don't know why I didn't think to look at it beforehand) it IS the coolant (aka water temperature) light that is flashing & not the oil pressure light.

The manual tells me to check the coolant level in the clear plastic refill tank located behind the rear license plate lid & make sure it is between the min & max levels when the engine is cold.
The refill tank's equipped with an electric coolant level checking device & when the level's too low the light will blink.

Simple enough. I found the tank.
I just have to move the van to a level surface to check it as my driveway is on a steep hill. I wonder if keeping my van parked on a hill all the time is such a good idea.

Anyway, I am relieved it's only the coolant level indicator & not the oil pressure light because now I know how to check the coolant level, lol

Thanks for your help & I'm sorry for all the confusion!

[funagon]

The sensor that makes that coolant light blink is in the other coolant bottle, to the left of the bottle behind the plate. You'll have to pick up the rear mattress and lift the hatch to see this bottle. You'll notice that the two bottles are connected by a hose, which is attached to the cap of that bottle on the left.

The left bottle is under pressure when hot, so don't open it or work on it after running the engine and getting it hot. When the engine and coolant are cold you can remove the hose and unscrew the pressure cap (if you need to add coolant). The pressurized bottle on the left should be filled up to the top. If you need to add a little coolant you can just add water.

The sensor is on top of the bottle with wires attached to it. Make sure it's properly plugged in. If the sensor is in place and the bottle's full of fluid, then it's possible that the sensor has gone bad.
_________________
1990 GL 7-passenger
2.2 liter WBX

[DAIZEE]

Silver is there anyone near you who has a vanagon or has had one that you could get a quick lesson from? Or some kind of place that services Vintage Vanagons? Do you have a Bentley? Don't be shy about asking questions. No stupid questions and shouldn't be any stupid answers.

[VisPacem]

[IOSilver]

Funagon,
Thank you for the helpful info about the 2nd bottle, the sensor & how to check it's functionality & top off the fluids. Very good to know!
I really appreciate your taking the time to guide me through all the steps. Thank you so very much!

Daizee,
It should come as no suprise that I have no clue what a Bentley is, lol
What I have is a 1985 VW Vanagon Westfalia full camper, partially restored.

I have the shop & owner's manuals for it. I'm no mechanic but if I can fix something simple & save myself serious $$ Im happy to try (as long as I am sure I don't create a bigger problem than I started with, lol)

There's a bugformance near me that services vanagons but they tend to charge quite a bit so avoid them when I can.
When I took the van into them to have it checked over & made road ready (I also had them verify the auxiliary battery was charging & tell me which appliances were connected to it) they charged me $150.
Seemed like a lot, but I needed it done.

There is someone local I found via Vanagon.com who works on these. Owner & sole proprieter of Glen's garage. He found a replacement mirror for me when I'd about given up looking & sold it to me for a good price.
I read some outstanding reviews about him & he appears very knowledgable & does not overcharge for his work so I'm keeping him in mind if I need any repair work done.

Maybe I'm nuts for keeping this van but I just fell in love with it.
It's so functional & makes camping such a breeze!
I'm moving just 80 miles from Yosemite, how can I part with it?

Appreciate all the help I've found on this site. Very grateful

[IOSilver]

& Vispacem,
Thank you too..

I like your instrument panel. If I didn't know it was a van, id' suspect it was an airplane. If my instrument looked like that I'd need to go to flight school to figure it all out, lol Thx for sharing

[VisPacem]

[Volksaholic]

[IOSilver]

Yep, that's my thought too. Save the money for the upcoming doom.

I'm hoping that's a ways down the road since my husband has already replaced the engine, brakes, water pump, tires & who knows what else.
Runs strong (for now)

I found a bunch of accessories he ordered from go westy still new in boxes. Like a solar powered battery charger & a rooftop cargo carrier.
Even a portable shower. He thought of everything. I miss my Grizzly Adams family man.

I just pulled all the drapes, washed & reinstalled them & they didn't fall apart so I'm taking this as a sign to keep going.. lol

Going camping this weekend & keepin my fingers crossed..

Cheers!