1990 VOLKSWAGEN TRANSPORTER coolant level

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CONTROLS AND EQUIPMENT
I - Tachometer*
"he red shaded area at the end of the scale indicates the maximum permissible
engine rpm (revolutions per minute) for all gears after the break-in period. Before
'eaching this area, the next higher gear
snould be selected or the foot eased off
the accelerator pedal. Earlier shifting saves fuel and reduces noise.
Sniff to the next lower gear when the en-
; ne rpm drops below 1500 rpm.
~ne green shaded area on the scale snows the speed at which the engine is de-
•
eloping its most favourable torque.
3 - Normal clock*

~J
set the clock, depress the knob in the : al center and
turn.
4 - Coolant temperature
gauge X
tare applicable The needle in the coolant temperature
gauge will indicate the temperature of the
coolant shortly after the ignition is
switched on.
When ignition is switched on the warning light (c) will flash for a few seconds as a
functional check.
a - Engine cold
Avoid high engine speeds and heavy throt­ tle when the needle is still in this area of
the
dial.

b - Normal temperature During normal running the needle will re­
main somewhere in the middle of the
dial.
If the engine is working hard at hign a--
bient temperatures, the needle may as:
go further to the right, but this is no cause
for concern so long as the coolant
tem­
perature warning light does not start

flashing.

c - Warning light If the light flashes when driving first check
the coolant temperature gauge. If the nee­
dle is in the normal range, add coolant at the next opportunity. If the needle is in the warn­
ing range, either the coolant level is too low
or the coolant temperature is too high. Move the vehicle a safe distance off the

road,
stop the engine and depress the
emergency flasher switch.
The fan should be operating when the warning light is on (listen for fan, located in
front of car behind grille).
WARNING • To reduce the risk of being burned,
never open the hood if you see or hear
steam or coolant escaping from the
engine compartment. Wait until no
steam or coolant can be seen or heard
before carefully opening the hood.


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CONTROLS
AND
EQUIPMENT

WARNING continned •
The
engine compartment
of any

motor vehicle
is a
potentially hazard­
ous
area.
Before you check anything in the engine compartment, stop
the

engine and
let it
cool down. Always
exercise extreme caution when work­
ing
one the
engine. Heed
all of the

WARNINGS on page
97.

Reduce the risk
of
scalding from
hot

coolant by following these steps.
• If the coolant reservoir cap must be
removed, wait until
the
engine
has

cooled down.
• Protect face, hands
and
arms
by

covering
the cap
with
a
large, thick
rag
to
protect against escaping fluid
and
steam.

• Carefully and slowly
turn
cap
one

turn
to
allow excess pressure
to es­
cape before completely removing

cap.

•
To
help avoid being burned,
do not

spill
antifreeze
or
coolant
on the ex­

haust system
or hot
engine parts.
Under
some conditions, the ethylene
glycol
in
engine coolant
is
combusti­
ble.
If a
visual check shows that coolant level
and V-belt
are
normal,
but the
warning light continues to
flash,
contact
your
near­
est dealer
to
have
the
cause located
and

corrected.
For more details see "Cooling system"
on

page 104.

If the
coolant gauge needle nears
the

upper end
of
the scale and the engine ap­
pears
to be
overheating,
turn
off the air

conditioner.
Do
not
install accessories
(fog
lights
or
in­
sect screens,
for
example)
on top of the

front
bumper.
They
may
restrict engine
cooling.
5
-
Fuel gauge
The needle
in
the fuel gauge will indicate the fuel level
in the
tank shortly after
the
ignition is switched on.
The fuel tank capacity is
16
gal/60
(syncro
18.5/70)
liters.
When
the
needle reaches the
red
area
at
the bottom there
is a
reserve
of
about 2.6 U.S. gal.
or
10 liters
of
fuel left in the tank.
Time to refuel.


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CONTROLS
AND
EQUIPMENT

WARNING
/ INDICATOR
LIGHTS

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
your vehicle is equipped
with
several
•nportant indicator and warning devices to
~ionitor the continued reliable operation of .our vehicle. Familiarize yourself
with

:hese
devices so if one should come on .ou know what to do.
-allure to heed applicable warnings and "nportant vehicle information may result in

serious
personal injury or vehicle damage.

WARNING
•
Whenever
stalled
or stopped for
epair,
move
the
vehicle
a
safe
distance
off the road, stop the
engine
and
turn

on the
emergency
flasher
(see
page

46).
• The
engine
compartment
of any

-lotor
vehicle
is a
potentially
hazard­
ous
area.
Before
you check
anything
in

?ie
engine
compartment,
stop the
engine
and let it cool down.
Always

exercise
extreme
caution
when
work­
ing
under
the
engine
hood.
Heed
all of
re
WARNINGS
on
page
97.
page

1 - Brake 43

2
- Safety belt 18

3
- Turn signals 44
4 - Alternator 44
5
- For additional light
6 - For additional light 7 - Oil pressure 43
8 - High beam 45
9 - Coolant temperature/level . . . 45
10 - For additional switch 9 10
B25-5t?

1-Brake
« ->

The
light comes on while the engine is
cranking.
It goes out after the engine is started and the parking brake is
fully
released.
This is your assurance
that
the
brake warning light is functioning properly.
If the brake warning light does not light JC
while cranking the engine or setting :ne parking brake, there may be a malfunction in the electrical system. In this
case
c;~-
tact your Volkswagen dealer.
'where applicable
Always
heed
WARNINGS
on next page


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VEHICLE OPERATION

OPERATE
YOUR VEHICLE SAFELY

A
lot has gone
into
the manufacture of your Volkswagen, including advanced engineering techniques, rigid quality
control and demanding inspections.

These
engineering and safety features will be enhanced by you, the safe driver,
• who knows the vehicle and all controls
• who maintains the vehicle properly
• who uses driving skills wisely.

For
your own safety as well as
that
of
those around you - be a responsible
driver. If you
drink,
do not
drive.
The use
of alcohol, drugs and certain medications
will seriously impair perception, reactions and driving ability, substantially increasing
the risk of an accident and personal
injury.
Do not
drive
if you are
tired,
ill or
under

emotional
stress.
The
following
points
are also
important
for
your
safety,
please
observe
them

all.
First
things
first...

• Turn the engine off before performing
any checks or repairs on the vehicle.
• Be sure tires are inflated correctly.

Check
for damage and
tire
wear.
• See
that
wheel bolts or nuts are pro­
perly tightened and not loose or missing.
• Check engine oil level, add if neces­

sary.
Make it a habit to have engine oil

checked
with
every fuel filling.
• Check coolant level to assure sufficient
engine cooling.
• Be sure you have a well charged
battery.
• Check brake fluid level. If too low, have
brake system checked.
• Replenish windshield washer fluid.
• Replace worn or cracked wiper blades.
• See
that
all windows are clear and un­
obstructed.
• Check whether all
light
lenses are

clean.
• Be sure all lights are working and head­
lights are aimed correctly.
• Check under vehicle for leaks.
• Make sure the movement of either

brake,
clutch or accelerator pedal is not hampered in any way.
• Be sure all luggage is stored securely.

You'll
find helpful hints on how to perform most of these checks in this manual. If in
doubt, have these checks performed by
your dealer or any other qualified
mechanic.

Emergency
equipment

It is good practice to carry emergency
equipment in your vehicle. Some of the
things you should have are: emergency
light,
first-aid kit, small shovel, and for the
winter
season,
an ice scraper, snow brush,
a
container or bag of sand or salt, etc.
70


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VEHICLE CARE

Refill
tank

Checking
the coolant level

The coolant level should
be
checked from time
to
time, and always before going on
a
longer
trip.

WARNING

To
reduce the risk of being burned, never open the hood if you see or hear
steam or coolant
escaping
from the en­
gine compartment.
Wait
until
no steam

or
coolant can be seen or heard before
carefully opening the
hood.
Expansion
tank
The refill tank and
the
expansion tank are in
the
engine compartment.
The coolant level
is
normally checked only in
the
refill tank (behind
the
license plate
lid).
The expansion tank needs checking only
if
a
large amount
of
coolant
is
lost
or if the

warning
light
in the
water temperature gauge lights up.
On
the
refill
and the
expansion tank,
the

cap
need
not
be taken
off,
since the tanks
are transparent.

On
the refill tank, the coolant level must
be

between
the
min.
and
max. marks when
engine
is
cold
and not
running. When
engine
is
warm, coolant level
may be

slightly above max. mark.
The expansion tank
is
equipped
with
an
electric coolant level checking device.
When the coolant level is too low, the warn­ ing
light
in the
coolant temperature gauge

(see
page
43)
will flash
until
the
coolant
level has been restored
to
normal.

Always heed WARNINGS on page 97.
105


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VEHICLE CARE
Adding
coolant

Turn
off the
engine
and allow it to cool
down.

WARNING
Reduce the
risk
of scalding
from
hot

coolant
by
following
these
steps.
• If the cap
from
the expansion
tank

must
be
removed
wait
until
the
engine

has cooled down. The cooling system
is
under
pressure.
•
Protect
face, hands and
arms
by
covering the cap
with
a
large,
thick
rag
to
protect
against
escaping
fluid
and steam.
•
Carefully
and
slowly
turn
cap one

turn
to
allow
excess pressure to es­ cape
before
completely
removing
cap.

Top
up coolant in refill tank. Only when
cooling
system was drained or a lot of
cool­
ant needs to be added, also
fill
expansion
tank.

To
maintain the anti-corrosion properties of the coolant, the antifreeze concentra­
tion should not be reduced, even during
the warm
season.
Increasing
the
antifreeze
in the
coolant

to
more
than
60% is not
only
unecono­ mical, it is also
detrimental
to
engine

cooling.

Only
use quality phosphate-free anti­

freeze
containing ethylene glycol. Such antifreeze is available at your Volkswagen

dealer.

Antifreeze,
other
than
specified by Volks­
wagen,
may cause corrosion of the cool­ ing system,
leading
to
engine
over­

heating
and
damage.

Only
for topping-up coolant, a small amount of antifreeze containing ethylene

glycol
and phosphates may be
used,
if rec­
ommended antifreeze is not available.
• After adding coolant, run the engine at
idle speed for a few seconds.
• Wait for the radiator fan to switch on

and
off again.
• Check coolant level. Add more coolant
if necessary.

Do
not overfill the system.
Excess
coolant will be forced out through
the pressure relief valve in the reservoir
when the engine becomes hot.
Screw cap on
again
tightly.
Radiator
fan

The
electric radiator fan (located in
fror:
r the car behind grille) is controlled by !':
moswitches
from the coolant and enc
TE

compartment temperature.

After
turning
off the
engine,
the
radiate

fan can
continue
to run (up to 10 r>
nutes).
It may also suddenly
start
to rx

again
even
with
the
ignition
switched
c*

Notes
• If the radiator fan does not come c
when the coolant temperature is very high

check
the fuse and replace it if necessar, - see page 129.
• The speed of the radiator fan does nc

depend
on the engine
speed,
therefore
cooling
effect cannot be increased b.
downshifting. As long as the engine runs smoothly and driving an uphill road does
not considerably reduce
speed,
there is n:
need
to downshift.

Always
heed
WARNINGS
on
page
97.


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