Are All Bay Oil Pressure Warning Lights Dim?

Hippie · Post by **Hippie** » Fri Aug 06, 2010 4:27 am

Ever since 2-3 years ago when I was diving with the sun more or less at my back, and the OP switch decided to go bad and turn on the oil light (false alarm), I've been kind of worried about the little green VW oil light.

The thing is that I don't know how long it was on before I noticed it... Several blocks, possibly.

The light just doesn't grab my attention. It's faded green, not that bright in daylight, (and not very well shaded from the sunlight) and just a few inches too low to be in my peripheral vision when looking straight out the windsheild.

Has anyone ever put in an audio beeper or figured out a way to make this more likely to be noticed visually?

dtrumbo · Post by **dtrumbo** » Fri Aug 06, 2010 6:22 am

Both of my buses ('70 & '78 ) have red oil pressure lights. They both are bright enough to see clearly, although I am paranoid enough to shade the instrument panel with my hand occasionally while driving on bright days.

Yours is green? What year is your bus? In any case, if you feel flexible, you could remove the bulb and use a water-moistened Q-tip to poke up through the bulb socket and try to clean off the gunk on the underside of the green(?) lens.

I do know my blue high-beam indicator is dimmer than the other indicators.

Post by **Amskeptic** » Fri Aug 06, 2010 9:11 am

Hippie wrote:Ever since 2-3 years ago when I was diving with the sun more or less at my back, and the OP switch decided to go bad and turn on the oil light (false alarm), I've been kind of worried about the little green VW oil light.

The thing is that I don't know how long it was on before I noticed it... Several blocks, possibly.

The light just doesn't grab my attention. It's faded green, not that bright in daylight, (and not very well shaded from the sunlight) and just a few inches too low to be in my peripheral vision when looking straight out the windsheild.

Has anyone ever put in an audio beeper or figured out a way to make this more likely to be noticed visually?

Early VWs up to about 1970 had that green light for oil pressure, not too noticeable, particularly with the green parking lamp indicator nearby.

There are slightly higher wattage little lamps available, but Hippie, you do need something more attention-getting.

You have a simple circuit to work with. The shell of the lamp is 12 volts positive whenever the ignition is on. The circuit is completed when the sender grounds the lamp through the wire. Could you come up with a low amperage relay, 85 from "hot" shell, 86 through grounding wire, 30 from any ignition supplied 12 volt source, and 87 can go to a buzzer relay with a light even. Just remember that on a hot day with low oil pressure at a stoplight, you'll be in a pinballmachine-run-amok.
Colin

Hippie · Post by **Hippie** » Fri Aug 06, 2010 7:10 pm

Yes dtrumbo, mine is green and faded almost to milky white. It does not grab my attention even at start-up like the little glaring red one in my daily driver (which is a misnomer since I usualy drive the Bus).
Perhaps a cleaning and a more powerful bulb is do-able.

Colin, I like your thinking. How about a buzzer that only is enabled after start-up? My OP light never comes on at idle no matter how hot of a day it is. Not even in Oklahoma at 105* after 500 miles of Interstate--so I think it could be OK to leave in circuit after the intitial start delay...Or not delayed but not having it buzz annoyingly at start up would be more elegant.

chitwnvw · Post by **chitwnvw** » Sat Aug 07, 2010 3:01 am

You all are miles ahead of me. I was going to suggest a buzzer. I've read of people wiring it up to their door buzzer circuits, but I don't think a 69 would have that.

Out of the box. He could also wire another more noticeable visual alarm.

Hippie · Post by **Hippie** » Sat Aug 07, 2010 4:56 am

Right, the 69 doesn't have a door buzzer, but Radio Shack stores have 12V DC buzzers for a few bucks. Not sure if I should make it buzz or just brighter. Maybe make it blink or something.

Post by **Amskeptic** » Sat Aug 07, 2010 10:42 am

Hippie wrote:Right, the 69 doesn't have a door buzzer, but Radio Shack stores have 12V DC buzzers for a few bucks. Not sure if I should make it buzz or just brighter. Maybe make it blink or something.

I highly recommend the auditory warning.
Colin

Hippie · Post by **Hippie** » Sun Aug 08, 2010 1:41 pm

I think I will go with that. Probably the easiest to hook up too.

static · Post by **static** » Sun Aug 08, 2010 2:31 pm

An old friend of mine did that. Works great. Please document every little bit of the process for the rest of us.

The real question, though, remains: Are All Baywindow Bus Owners Dim?

Hippie · Post by **Hippie** » Sun Aug 08, 2010 7:13 pm

I'll take pictures and get a Radio Shack part number and post it.

static wrote: The real question, though, remains: Are All Baywindow Bus Owners Dim?

I am kind of a low-wattage-goomba. I can't speak for the others.

Hippie · Post by **Hippie** » Tue Aug 10, 2010 3:17 pm

This is how dim my OP warning light is:

This is the buzzer I bought. $3.96 at Radio Shack.

I looked at the color wiring diagram over at TheSamba technical section and found that, in my case, the wire that grounds the OP light through the oil pressure switch is blue with a green tracer.
Testing the suspected wire under the dash showed a ground with the engine and ignition off. I'm using a continuity tester here so the power all has to be off. The tester is connected to a grounded screw under the dash, and it lights contacting the blue/green wire.

When the OP switch was disconnected at the engine, the tester no longer lit, so I knew I was on the correct wire.

I usually like to strip just a section off the insulation without having to cut the wire.

A new black wire was tapped off the side of the OP light wire, soldered and taped.

I found that the first fuse in my fuse panel was +12V "hot" only with the ignition on, so I found the wire that came off the load side of the fuse. That way the fuse still basically protects the new wires I'm adding.
This is a regular 12 volt test light with power on.

Again tapped a wire off the side like before.

Never get "too done" and tucked away without testing to see if it works right. The Buzzer went off until the OP came up and the warning light went out.

I mounted the buzzer up close under the dash.

I don't trust any cheap buzzers exclusively, and try to keep my eye in the OP light anyway, but this is a nice attention getter.

Hippie · Post by **Hippie** » Tue Aug 10, 2010 6:19 pm

Video Link:

http://s553.photobucket.com/albums/jj36 ... ent=13.mp4

chitwnvw · Post by **chitwnvw** » Tue Aug 10, 2010 8:28 pm

Nice reinforcement to hear it upon startup.

Hippie · Post by **Hippie** » Tue Aug 10, 2010 8:41 pm

Yeah, like Randy (in Maine) told me, you'll know it's working whenever you start up. And it's not so loud as to be annoying or startling. But if it ever comes on driving, I'll be like, crap-the oil!

Post by **Amskeptic** » Tue Aug 10, 2010 9:40 pm

Hippie wrote:Yeah, like Randy (in Maine) told me, you'll know it's working whenever you start up. And it's not so loud as to be annoying or startling. But if it ever comes on driving, I'll be like, crap-the oil!

Good job! =D>
I am going to get a Looney Tunes "That's All Folks" wav warning buzzer.

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Are All Bay Oil Pressure Warning Lights Dim?

Are All Bay Oil Pressure Warning Lights Dim?

Re: Are All Bay Oil Pressure Warning Lights Dim?