I taught my daughter how to do the vanagon fillup dance, peek in license plate, check oil coolant, squat and peek for drips, sniff for gas, and eyeball the tires, she's 5

> Date: Tue, 19 Apr 2011 07:23:29 -0700
> From: dhanson928@GMAIL.COM
> Subject: Re: Broken Odometer
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> 
> On Tue, Apr 19, 2011 at 3:51 AM, Stephen Grisanti <bike2vcu@yahoo.com>wrote:
> 
> > .  Running without guages, make sure to check all fluids periodically since
> > you won't have warning if something goes amiss.
> >
> > Stephen
> >
> 
>    It is a good idea to check all fluids, even with gauges, every time you
> put fuel in, at least.   It only takes a few seconds.  Gauges can and do
> malfunction. Quite often.  It's an expensive mistake to run short of oil or
> coolant...I don't depend totally on gauges and warning lights..I like to see
> the real stuff, to know my levels are good.  If I have any doubt, I pull
> over and re-check, real quick!
> 
>    I had a faulty wire from my coolant sender for a time...It looked to be
> ok but the insulation was brittle and cracked (in a hidden spot) and it was
> not making consistent contact always...So my temp gauge behaved
> strangely...moving around slowly..I swapped out thermostats, checked fan
> relay and motor, went over my cooling system numerous times, changed the
> sender, changed the gauge, etc.  All the while, I kept a very close watch on
> my coolant level.  I eventually found the cracked wire that was making
> intermittent contact from the sender to the temp gauge.  It was blowing
> around when under way, but when the van was stationary, the connection was
> "ok"...Very hard to figure out...A lot of 'angst' because of a tiny little
> wire being cracked...
> 
>   It is good to know you can run without the cluster.  I bet many new
> improved vehicles, you would be on the flat bed if you unplugged anything in
> the instrument panel and tried to drive...
> 
>   Don Hanson