Thanks, Scott.
  The link from the Old Volks Home page that I referenced in my OP gives a
step by step of which wires to switch to which positions in the big plug.
All my wires in both clusters are a match for what he says, so I think that
will maybe work.
  But knowing to ground the high pressure wire of the DOPS to make it
'happy'...that is what I was looking for.
  Man, these German vehicles.  My Porsche 928 was a thousand times worse
with over 80 relays, all interconnected and interdependent.  You *never*
could just unplug one thing...That car KNEW, and resented you, and made you
pay some other way.  I had four different 'bridges' of wire bypasses to fool
it into not refusing to run...Until I ripped all that crap out and stuck in
a Motec EMS...
  Anyhow, thanks for the tip on the DOPS..I'll try just taking it right out
of the speedo first...
  Don Hanson

On Sat, Oct 10, 2009 at 7:54 PM, Scott Daniel - Turbovans <
scottdaniel@turbovans.com> wrote:

> Hi,
> no, your early vanagon does not have some kind of secondary low oil
> pressure warning system.
> The van is wired for just one basic, 'low pressure' oil pressure switch.
>
> I would try this........
> well first of all let's say there are 'two kinds' ( at least for our
> discussion here ) two kinds of instrument clusters with tachs.
> the more common one would be 86 and later for 2.1 waterboxer engines, and
> that printed circuit/instrument cluster has the DOPS in it.
>
> the other kind, more rare, but easier for you to install, is an 84 or 85
> printed circuit .....
> those vans have 1.9 wbxr engines, no DOPS in the instrument cluster , and
> are much closer to a bolt-in for your van.
>
> Assuming you have an instrument cluster with a DOPS ...
> I'd just try this for starters.
> Remove the mutha !
> It's hidden inside the speedometer.
> it's an 'L' shaped electronic circuit on a circuit board, about 3 X 4
> inches. ( there's a pic of it in Bentley )
> Just take it out.
>
> also ........very important.
> T14 ........the big plug on the instrument cluster.
> Which wire is where varies by year, or 'group of year.'
> I put an instrument cluster with tach from ...... ( .I forget what year it
> was ) ..........into an 83........
> which is 1.9 wbxr with single oil  warning light system..
>
> What I saw in the Bentley diagrams is that ....roughly,  80 to 82 has one
> arrangement of wires at T14,
> 83 and 84 is the same, 85 might be by itself, and 86 and later is the same.
>
> so .........if the instrument cluster and printed circuit I'm using has the
> green wire ( tach signal from coil terminal 1 ) on say T14-6 ( or whatever
> it is ) .........
> and the van I'm putting it into has the green wire at position say 4, in
> the T14 connector plug, it is necessary to juggle the wires a bit by
> position.
>
> Most happily, the plastic T14 connector 'opens up.'  So nice,
> You flip up the side of it, and the wires are just laying there, and you
> can take say # 2 and put it in position 4, the one for 4 in say 7, and 7 in
> 2, or whatever you need.
> Takes a bit of thinking and studying , but I did it successfully.  You can
> too.
>
> about the DOPS .....if just removing the thing doesn't work, do this.
> Leave it in. Find the high pressure wire for it coming out of the
> instrument cluster at T14 .........and just ground that wire.
> The high pressure side of the DOPS is happy if it sees ground,.  The high
> pressure oil switch is reverse logic from a normal oil pressure switch.
> Normal ones have the light on when it sees ground ( low oil pressure )
> the high pressure switches are opposite ............if it's open to the
> switch, that turns on the oil warning light, and buzzer, ......it's happy if
> it sees ground.
> So just ground that wire ......right there in the dash.
> that will keep the DOPS happy,
> and also keep your stock early van oil pressure circuit working just fine.
> Just mine wire positions at T14.
>
> just be real careful
> Don't let something like this happen. I was working on an 84 .......for
> some weird instrument cluster symptom .......no temp gauge, something like
> that.
> I checked all I could...........wasn't getting anywhere.
> And thought I'd just pop in a known good 84 cluster out of another one of
> my vans.
> Soon as I turn on the key - poof !
> wires fried right there where T14 plugs on.........part of the printed
> circuit.
> Some dooffus  had taped into the wrong place for radio power ..........and
> the van, or that improper wiring damaged the original instrument cluster,
> then it did it to my good one too.
> Bummer.
> so be real careful.
> Check all your wire changes like 5 times before you turn on the key the
> first time etc.
>
> Scott
> www.turbovans.com
>
>