And just now you're mentioning the engine swap?!  :-)

Any other major modifications you'd like to tell us about?  Aftermarket
stereo, power antenna, alarm etc.....

On Sun, Oct 19, 2008 at 8:24 PM, Luke Bakken <luke.bakken@gmail.com> wrote:

> >> I pulled the fuses one at a time to see what circuit the problem may
> >> be on, but no luck. Being a Vanagon newbie, I'm not really familiar
> >
> > How much drain are you seeing?
>
> It's weird - if I have my multimeter set to the 10A range, it appears
> to be hovering around 100mA, but if I move the multimeter to the 500mA
> range, it's pegged. Grr - either I'm reading the tester wrong
> (entirely possible) or the tester has an issue. If I put a 12V test
> light in series between the negative cable and negative post it does
> light up, although dimly. In addition, I hear a whirring motor sound
> from up by the dash for about 2 seconds when I restore power (and I
> see the resulting current draw), but it shuts itself off. What is
> that?
>
> What amperage or multi tester do list members here recommend?
>
> From my reading online last night, the next step is to get a reliable
> mA reading and start pulling fuses and relays until the current draw
> goes down. Failing that, it appears that things like the power door
> locks, stereo, LED clock, alternate battery system (I don't have a 2nd
> battery, but it appears that in addition to the stock positive cable
> on my battery there are the two red/white wires as well) or alternator
> could be causing this ... or something else, like a barely-shorted
> wire somewhere.
>
> One other thing that I have noticed with this van is that the
> open-door chime doesn't *always* come on when the driver's side door
> is opened. And, sometimes when it is on and I hoist myself up using
> the steering wheel, it stops chiming.
>
> To make this all even more interesting, the van has the Smallcar
> Subaru conversion as well and I'm really hoping this isn't related to
> that. Good times!
>
> Thanks,
> Luke
>

--
Jake
1984 Vanagon GL
1986 Westy Weekender "Dixie"
Crescent Beach, BC
www.crescentbeachguitar.com
http://subyjake.googlepages.com/mydixiedarlin%27