coolant light staying on and won't listen to me

[candyman]

okay,
so for the last couple of days when i start my syncro the coolant light has been staying on progessively longer to the tune of 45 seconds or more. then finally yesterday it would not go out at all. The coolant level is fine. the system is bled. the van is by now ways overheating as this happens when i first start the van. the res cap has been replaced. i am figuring perhaps the sensor in the res may be getting gunked up or it is failing. what does it sound like to you guys? if it is the sensor, which is my guess, does anyone have a spare for sale?

[larrytrk]

Clean the connections first and make sure you have a tight fit, mine was doing the same thing (non syncro)with a new sensor, cleaning and tightening connector cured it. Ck for leakage around gasket, cooolent can screw it up.
All else fails, new sensor and "O" ring
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[kenmag]

Check the wires for the res tank sensor connector. They could be frayed or broken near or at the connector.
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[tencentlife]

All of the above, but you can also remove the sensor and clean off its sensing pins. They are immersed in the coolant and can get covered in cruddy residue that will insulate their surfaces.

You mean the light continues to flash, right? If it's on solid, there could be other problems with the gauge or the controller relay.
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[candyman]

[Johnagon]

I've written this before without any responses. My vans coolant light will blink if I don't leave the key half on for about 3 seconds prior to starting.
What I should say is, If I turn the key towards on, let something cycle itself twice(it's the fuel pump. You can hear it). Then continue to the "start" position with the key. It will start normally and the light does not continue. If I don't perform the ritual my dash light will blink the entire time the van is running. And yes the system is functioning fine. It's been bled and has new sensor. Does anybody know why ?
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'85 Westfalia
'95 Sonoma pick-up

[mordeaux]

I'm suffering the same condition myself. My research on the vanagon.com archives suggests the cure could be any of things mentioned above as well as a fault in the instrument panel circuitry. Apparently, the circuit that makes the light flash when you first turn the key to the "on" position is compromised.

A search here or on the vanagon.com archives will turn up many results.

[candyman]

well,
went home last and played with the wires. they looked to be in good shape but went ahead and cleaned up the connections at the sensor. the light is operating fine now. i did not pull the sensor as i want to troubleshoot it one step at a time in order to properly diagnose this problem. apparently cleaning the connections has "cured" it atleast for now. if it comes back i will pull sensor and clean the probes.
thanks for all the input

[wavanagon]

i had the same problem recently, it was the gauge itself in the cluster. it would blink erratically while driving. it was so obvious that it would start to blink when I hit a bump, or turn off when I hit a bump. Quite possibly the most annoying thing in the world, that little red light. I replaced the sensor, and it still didn't go away. I bought a new cluster, works fine now.

Ahh, the vanagonisms we deal with!
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