Ryan,

If you added straight water (or straight antifreeze), the concentration of
antifreeze may be off enough to cause the light to blink non stop.

jim henry

Ryan Heidcamp wrote:

> I noticed yesterday as my dad was backing our 85 Vanagon up the driveway it
> had no reverse lights.  I didn't have a lot of time to dig into it, since it
> was looking like rain.  I checked fuse 12 and there's power there.  The fuse
> is good (the horn works).  I pulled the covers off the tail lights, bulbs
> good, no power with van running and in reverse.  I assume there's a switch
> on the tranny.  Is this correct?  Where is it located?  How do I test it?
> Is there a common fault area (wire comes unplugged) or somewhere I should
> start to look.
>
> Since I have bought the Vanagon, I have battled the blinking coolant light.
> Everything had been fine, up till Thursday night.  When it was 92 degrees
> out, I had two buddies in the van and most of a Scirocco (motor, both doors,
> hatch, everything electronic, most of the interior, wheels).  So the van was
> working a bit.  Anyway the light started blinking.  I checked the fluid
> level yesterday and it was down a little.  I topped it off, but the light is
> still blinking.  I didn't bleed the system (rushing to beat the rain).  But
> is it possible the sensor in the tank is bad?  The sensor in the tank
> controls the blinking light?  The sensor in the radiator controls the temp
> gauge.  Is this correct?  The van never gets above half temp, unless sitting
> in traffic for a really long time.  Also the fan kicks on when it gets hot
> and runs after the van is off, so that part works.  I had a trusted VW
> mechanic in Minneapolis, flush and fill last winter with Autobahn.  The
> light would brink until the van got to a normal temp (thermostat open) then
> go out.  But right now just blinks non stop.
>
> Thanks,
> Ryan