My guess is the same thing that happens when I "wash" my engine; water and dirt combine to form a mildly conductive path which lights up the oil LED (was probably dim, not full brightness).� Engine warms up, water evaporates, conductive path broken (until next time it gets wet), and back to normal.

Rich
San Diego

________________________________
 From: Rocket J Squirrel <camping.elliott@GMAIL.COM>
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM 
Sent: Wednesday, February 12, 2014 10:56 AM
Subject: Oil pressure lamp
 

Started the van (1.9L) this morning. Dampish morning, 40 degrees F (a
mild morning, it was 55 degrees colder than that two weeks ago). The van
hadn't been driven for about a week.

The oil pressure lamp did not go out. The oil pressure gauge I installed
a couple years ago read normally (75 psi, cold engine, idling, 0-40
weight oil), so I sat for a moment and decided to trust the gauge.

Over a period of about 3 minutes while driving, the oil pressure lamp
dimmed until it went out.

Took care of my errand (had a crown installed at the dentist's), which
took about 20 minutes, and when I started the van again, the lamp
behaved normally: lit then went out after a few seconds as it normally does.

Bad sender or something? Isn't that sender a switch? What's with the
dimming then?

--
Jack "Rocket j Squirrel" Elliott
1984 Westfalia, auto trans,
Bend, Ore.