Terrific post, Ed!

Please tell me more about the second evaporator you installed, OK?

From what vehicle did it come, and I assume you plumbed it in parallel (not
series) with the other evaporator, right?

Did you do any mods to the compressor - or anything else to make this work?

Marshall Ruskin, 84 Westy
Aloha from Winnipeg
----- Original Message -----
From: "Ed McLean" <email99@BELLSOUTH.NET>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Tuesday, November 13, 2001 07:46 PM
Subject: AC high current problem fixed and improved AC performance

> I also have had problems with high current draw from my '86 Westy air
> conditioning fan.  After a little thought I developed a good solution
> that had the added benefit of significantly improving the performance of
> the air conditioning system.
>
> I found my Westy air conditioning fan was drawing a enough current to
> overheat the fan switch.  In my case, the fan switch would last about a
> year before the high speed switch contacts would overheat and fail.  I
> eliminated the problem with the switch by installing a gang of three 40
> amp load reduction relays inside the air conditioning cabinet to provide
> the current to drive the evaporator fan.  The current for the fan was
> provided by the +12 VDC terminal in the wiring connection box in the
> engine compartment via a heavy gauge wire and an 50 amp circuit
> breaker.  The relays were controlled by the original air conditioning
> fan switch, one for each speed.  All wiring connectors were crimped and
> soldered.  I found the high speed relay would stick after long runs so I
> piggybacked a second relay in parallel to split the current draw.  This
> has worked very well with no problems for several years.
>
> One unexpected benefit is now the air conditioning fan is supplied with
> power that has not suffered the considerable voltage drop from the
> original fan switch and small gauge wire.  I did not measure the voltage
> available at the fan in the stock configeration but it had to me much
> less than it is now.  The air conditioning now works much better because
> the fan blows much stronger.  The present Low speed is about equal to
> the previous Medium speed.  The High fan speed is awesome and is more
> than adequate in blowing cold air up to the driver and front seat
> passenger in hot weather and is actually too strong except for initial
> cooling off after sitting in the sun.  In fact, I had previously
> installed a second evaporator unit over the glove compartment (another
> story altogether) to cool the folks in the front.  With the improved fan
> operation, the second air conditioning unit would not have been
> necessary.
>
> I highly recommend adding load reduction relays to provide adequate
> voltage to the air conditioning fan.