Excellent idea, John!� If prototypes work, could actually turn this into a product...what would people be willing to spend for this "insurance" to save a major engine event from happening....$25 or so?� Maybe list vendors would be interested, too.� Maybe patentable, too, do "real" cars,...er...modern ones, have such an audible alert?� They should!

Rich
85 Vanagon
San Diego

--- On Tue, 5/25/10, John Bange <jbange@GMAIL.COM> wrote:

From: John Bange <jbange@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Warning Lights Audible Buzzer
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Date: Tuesday, May 25, 2010, 10:47 AM

> it would drive me nuts to have the alarm every time I put the key in the
> ignition and got the momentary red lights...so needs to have a "reasonable"
> delay of 10 seconds or so, so that only alarms when there is real trouble
> while running.� Like a broken belt.
>
> Come on you Electrical Engineers!� Couple IC's and discretes, some
> perfboard, some wires.....� (ignorant Mechanical Engineer speaking).
>

Better than a delay would be to monitor the tachometer pulse and only fire
the buzzer if there's tach activity and there's no voltage on the alternator
sense wire. 25 cent microcontroller and a half dozen miscellaneous parts,
and it'd attach to the dash cluster with three wires. Add a couple more and
you could monitor oil and water as well.

I actually have the project on my list... right after I finish the idle
controller...

--
John Bange