< guress I didn't send this >

Do you have the two fuses right behind the driver's seat ?
Pulling one of those will cut power to the fridge fan I believe.

I noticed that too..
Had Westy sitting in the sun on a super hot day ..
everything is off. Everything.
Fridge fan sensor sees enough heat ..
it runs that little fan.
I don't think in germany when the designed it they enviisoned westy's in
temps like you are seeing ..
for hours and hours a day, and for days on end.
 How weird ..
just being hot enoug can drain a battery that way. Who would think ?

it's their climate in germany .....not blazing hot there that often I don't
think..
and of course now ..we are having much higher temps on average , overall...
than they had back then , when they designed the thing.

sounds like a good application for a solar battery maintainer panel,  or
charger panel.  Just one sitting on the dash plugged into the cigarette
lighert will keep the main-starting battery up.  When it's sunny.

things are a changin' ..
sure looks that way.
glad I got to experience saneness, like say in the 80's and even 90's.
Things weren't that weird at all back then.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Dave Mcneely" <mcneely4@COX.NET>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Wednesday, August 24, 2011 8:55 AM
Subject: Another naive battery question

> It has been brutally hot here (central Oklahoma) this summer.  Heat is
> hard on batteries.  But heat adds another dimension to battery problems
> with the camper (1991 Volkswagen Vanagon GL Campmobile).  When the van
> sits in the sun the refrigerator exhaust fan runs.  I've noticed it
> before, but this summer, with days and days of 110 F temperatures, it has
> run a lot.  (1) How much of a drain on the battery is that, and (2) would
> it make sense to disconnect the fan if the thing is going to sit for a
> while.  Actually, I can't think of anything in my van that needs to be
> "online," so would it make sense simply to disconnect one battery post
> (easier to get to than the refrigerator fan).  Or, I could just pull the
> proper fuse.
>
> Comments?
>
> mcneely