Just wire in a manual switch.  When the temp gets to a certain point, flip
the switch.  I don't know much about the cooling characteristics of a
water-cooled Vanagon (being an AC driver) I am relying on my past
experience with other water-cooled cars.  From what I remember, the fan
should really only be used when idling or driving very slow and
occasionally on a long steep grade.  Other than that, the ram-air effect
should provide enough airflow.  With a manual switch, you'd only need to
use it when sitting in traffic and the temp climbs up too high.

Craig

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Craig Standley                             cstand@u.washington.edu
University of Washington     http://weber.u.washington.edu/~cstand
Physics
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On Wed, 27 May 1998, jhlauterbach wrote:

> When I purchased my '84 Vanagon last year, the mechanic set the fan to run
> continuously to avoid a bad fan switch.  When the fan gets hot in the 90+
> degree Georgia heat, it slows down at gets noisy.  When is the fan supposed
> to go on if the fan switch is working correctly?  Has anyone figured out a
> way to avoid the $459 price tag of a new fan?
>
> John in Middle Georgia
>