FWIW, the wiring diagram for 90-91 Vanagons is on Thom's Vintagebus
site. <http://www.vintagebus.com/wiring/> If somebody wants to scan
other diagrams, Thom would be happy to make them available to all. (I've
already done my 10...)

Jim

David Jaffe wrote:
> MessageProblems like this should be found and quantified rather than have a
> rule-of-thumb such as "I can go up to 4 days and still start the van".  It
> might be a stereo or clock inappropriately pulling too much, but it could
> something else which you need to know about.  The key to finding your
> battery drain is to use a Multimeter that can read amps (as all but the
> least expensive can).  To be at all self-sufficient with these beasts, you
> have to have one.  (Buy 10mm & 13mm wrenches, too - for use on your battery
> terminals & nearly every other small nut on the Vanagon.)  Put the MM in
> series on your battery on either side (remove one battery cable, then go
> battery cable to Multimeter to battery terminal) and see what the drain is
> with the key off - this is called the parasitic drain.  Your reading will be
> in amps of current.  I don't have an official figure, but I'd track-down
> anything more than 0.1 (one tenth) of an Amp.
>
> With the Multimeter in series, pull fuses until you find the one(s) whose
> removal zeros the reading on your Multimeter (possibly two different fuses
> account for the total drain).  At this point you know the circuit(s) where
> the culprit is wired into the system.  Based on either visual inspection
> carefully following wire colors from the fuse panel (very, very difficult)
> or looking in the factory manual (the best $60 you'll ever spend), you can
> see what's on that circuit.  If multiple devices live there, you can start
> unhooking either connectors or individual devices to find the one causing
> the problem.
>
> If the parasitic draw doesn't stop regardless of which fuses you pull, you
> have an issue on something not fused, and that must be found & eliminated.
> Oftentimes problems occur after stereo installations, because the person
> used wires they shouldn't have, but you can also have other issues unrelated
> to clocks or stereos.
>
> Two general electrical suggestions not directly related to parasitic drains:
> 1.  Clean your battery terminals if you see any corrosion.  (Trust me on
> this on - it gives more power to everything in your rig.)     2.  Use your
> Multimeter to test your battery voltage with the key off (you should get at
> least 12.4V, representing a 75% battery charge), and with the van running
> (you should get between 13.8 & 15V, showing your alternator is working
> correctly).
>
> David Jaffe
> Portland
> 4 Vanagons (3 for sale or will trade one for X-Cab pickup - see
> http://davidjaffe.tripod.com)
> 1 Honda Civic
> 1 Honda MC
>   -----Original Message-----
>   From: Larry Chase [mailto:lchase@attglobal.net]
>   Sent: Monday, January 20, 2003 7:45 AM
>   To: vanagon@yahoogroups.com; wetwesties@yahoogroups.;
> vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com; Syncro@yahoogroups.com; ev_update@yahoogroups.com
>   Subject: [Syncro] Overnight Battery Drain
>
>
>   Volks,
>
>   Just got the van out of the shop for Stereo install.
>
>   Trouble shooting what appears to be some overnight battery drain.
>
>   My question ..... what would be a normal overnight voltage drop?
>
>   The first night I lost over 5 volts overnight.
>
>   Yesterday I isolated  all the stereo components and fully recharged the
> battery.
>
>   Reading before going to bed ... = 12.5 volts
>
>   Reading this morning = 11.49 volts
>
>   So seem there was a voltage drop of approx 1 volt overnight.
>
>   Is this normal?
>
>   As far as I know there should not be anything drawing current other than a
> little "In Panel" digital volt gauge.
>
>   Hitting the Trail Soon ... OR IS HE!
>
>   Larry Chase
>
>   Email: lchase@attglobal.net
>   Web: www.roadhaus.com - Under Construction
>   What: The Great North American Road Trip
>   When:  Early 2003
>   How: RoadHaus - 1990 2.2 L  VW Westfalia Syncro
>   Today: Mesa, AZ - Soon > Los Osos, CA / Go Westy
>   From: Mesa,  AZ
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
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>