> Couldn't this piece be used to wire up an alarm to make a noise of some kind
> when you park a vanagon, like an initial pleasant beep if you did the right
> thing and put it into Park, and warning alarm if you don't (with an override
> switch)... I can't count how many times I've had to thrown it into park
> after jumping out of the vanagon only to notice it starting to roll. One
> time in particular was really scary, on an incline...

I've considered such a thing. I can't tell you how many times I've
jumped in to Lastwagen, my auto work van and found it still in drive.
This usually happens after I've been driving Wiesel, the manual van
for a couple days. Fortunately, I also always set the parking brake in
the manual van, so I never roll, I just experience puzzlement when the
starter won't go.

Personally, my idea was to add a normally open microswitch under the
shift lever housing that activates a buzzer if the door is opened with
the van out of park. Yet another project "on my list" that'll probably
never get done...

--
John Bange
'90 Vanagon - "Lastwagen"
'90 Vanagon GL - "Wiesel"