IAC wannabe, or, DON'T JUNK THAT BUS!

[asiab3]

SlowLane- don't think I won't do that if I can find a revival anywhere near me!

BB Update:

The heater works now. The bus smells like shit now.

Brian did the dirty work. God bless Brian.




I think the four-year-old who misses his family's bus dearly is also missing his marble.




Wait, maybe I just lot all of mine. Either way, that marble was in rather cushy living conditions for the last however many years…




Had to turn the heat off on the way home; I did a 80mph speed run on the highway and the heat was adequate for the weather we have. Not prodigious like Buddy's, but adequate. But we also made a temporary hack to enable a certain "coconut fresh air" scent when the red levers are down.

Also got the blower fan to work as designed.*

Robbie


*OK, Smarty Pantses, why did VW design the heater blower relay to receive switching signal 12v from the alternator signal? The fan can not run if the engine is not running, great, but why?

[tristessa]

The fan can not run if the engine is not running, great, but why?

...to prevent stagnant engine compartment air from being blown into the passenger compartment? The crank-driven fan draws more air through the "ears" than you might think...

[SlowLane]

OK, Smarty Pantses, why did VW design the heater blower relay to receive switching signal 12v from the alternator signal? The fan can not run if the engine is not running, great, but why?

Measure the current draw of that fan motor while running. Then ask yourself if you want your battery to support that load all by its lonesome.

[asiab3]

The fan can not run if the engine is not running, great, but why?

...to prevent stagnant engine compartment air from being blown into the passenger compartment? The crank-driven fan draws more air through the "ears" than you might think...

Yes the airflow is nice; I would put one in my T1 bus for extra heat at idle if VW ever offered it across the product line and made official parts for it. But how would stagnant air necessitate such a conscious decision? The air would still be pulled from the scoops, because in VW's world, (and mine!) the engine compartment is perfectly sealed. Or is there CO2 present in the exhaust system after shutdown?

Measure the current draw of that fan motor while running. Then ask yourself if you want your battery to support that load all by its lonesome.

I have an 8-amp fuse in the fuse holder; I don't know what it came with and my meter is MIA. Electric DC motors typically consume exponentially higher current during startup than static-speed operation. I will counter your thoughts with VW's installation of the "ambulance" fresh air fans in the cabin to the #30 "always hot" 8-amp fuse so they can run without the engine. By this logic, I really think there has to be a reason with more substance. Perhaps a thermal expansion cool down issue?


I would love to interview an original VW engineer:
"Sir, why…"
"You are all overthinking it. Our method saves one meter of wire per car."
"So that's…"
"Yes, exactly. 169,494 meters of wire in 1976."



Robbie

[tristessa]

I was thinking smell more than anything to do with CO or CO2

[Amskeptic]

*OK, Smarty Pantses, why did VW design the heater blower relay to receive switching signal 12v from the alternator signal? The fan can not run if the engine is not running, great, but why?

Only until 1976 did Volkswagen require that the alternator be putting out before allowing the heater fan to draw.

After that, they just ran a black wire to the heater blower relay coil right off the 15 ignition wire to the coil.

I say, I say, I say they did that when they removed the garish red christmas light display off the heater controls and freed up mega amps, but I could be wrong. I think the new style heater blower may have had a lower amperage motor, like the same year they downsized the wiper motor, but I could be wrong.
ColinAmIWrong?

[asiab3]

Iiiiiinterestiiinngggg. I read some Very Serious Comments, though I don't remember where, that the operation of the heater blower while the engine was off is forbidden. Water under the bridge now…

My total repair bill is somewhere in the $9 range, from when I replaced the braided fuel line. I can't possibly learn anything about fuel injection if this bus keeps running so well… This weekend saw a 250 mile trip from Oceanside, to a music festival in Warner Springs, to San Diego, and back home. Want to know how to shush a noisy Volkswagen bus? Pack it with 14 blankets, three good friends, and a backwoods road trip.






Life: don't let your shiny paint get in the way.
Robbie

[jtauxe]

Ya want some real fun? Mount some big-ass driving lights to the front of that thing, find a friend with a DeLorean, wrap a scarf around your head and buzz a local theater that is holding a Back to The Future revival. Be sure to put on your best nasty-Libyan snarly face.
Oooo, is that inappropriate?

Totally appropriate! I know of two DeLoreans in town, here, so all I need is the blue/white sunroof bus! ( I even had one for awhile, but it got chopped up so that others could live.)

And... hmm... I just realized you are in our rival nuc-u-lar town. Livermore vs Los Alamos!

Most people won't get that. The joke is that the nuclear weapons designers (weaponeers, we call them) in one town give no end of shit to the weaponeers in the other town. It would be funny if they weren't all working on weapons of mass destruction.

Ooh, look, I found an appripriate smiley!

[SlowLane]

Ya want some real fun? Mount some big-ass driving lights to the front of that thing, find a friend with a DeLorean, wrap a scarf around your head and buzz a local theater that is holding a Back to The Future revival. Be sure to put on your best nasty-Libyan snarly face.
Oooo, is that inappropriate?

Totally appropriate! I know of two DeLoreans in town, here, so all I need is the blue/white sunroof bus! ( I even had one for awhile, but it got chopped up so that others could live.)

Two DeLoreans? Wow, lucky you. I've never seen one actually on the road.

Back In The Past, when Back To The Future was originally in the theaters, I had a blue '69 Bay with sunroof (well, it was under a poptop), 100 W auxiliary lights slaved to the high-beam relay, Bosch halogens with 80/100 W bulbs, and a 140 HP Corvair engine in the back with a REALLY LOUD twin-pipe exhaust.

Went to see the movie. Enjoyed it immensely. As I was climbing into my van afterwards I heard someone behind me jokingly say "Hey, look: Libyans". Smiled to myself, fired up the engine with a ROARRRR and flipped on the high-beams. Best description of their expressions I can come up with is: "deer in headlights".

Considered going to the manager of the theater after that and offering to cruise by slowly wearing a bandana each evening after the show let out ...

And... hmm... I just realized you are in our rival nuc-u-lar town. Livermore vs Los Alamos!

Most people won't get that. The joke is that the nuclear weapons designers (weaponeers, we call them) in one town give no end of shit to the weaponeers in the other town. It would be funny if they weren't all working on weapons of mass destruction.

Won't be talking no smack talk here about the other town. And I prefer "fusioneer", thankyouverymuch.