Re: "Out Of Fuel" warning lamp...progress, I think...

[Gerard <gerard@poboxes.com>]

Hi!

I've got that 1990 (or 1989) 200T with the out of fuel warning signal
coming on t over 1/3 tank. I've made some progress on this. There
are 3 (not 4 as I previously mentioned) dip switches on the back of
the instrument cluster. These fix/adjust fuel consumption figures.
Last week I removed the instrument cluster and slapped all 3 of them
to the opposite settings. The out of fuel signal now does not
come on. Yesterday I removed the cluster again once I had learnt that
the switches were actually for fuel consumption adjustment instead
of for fixing the level at which the out of fuel signal triggers.
I then switches all 3 of the switches back to their original position.
So now I have 0% correction on the fuel consumption and mileage
readings. My tank is under 1/4 tank left now. The amazing thing is
that the out of fuel warning has disappeared. It seems to have been
cured I think.

So it seems that problem has been fixed.

New problem. Last week when I flipped at the switches to the on position
and put the cluster back. I started the car and immediately I started
getting the "low pressure in hydraulic system symbol". This is related
to my previous posts about "brake warning" signal which would come on
at about 120-130km/h without me having to touch the brakes. The roads
I would be travelling on would be fairly bumpy side-roads so the
steering would be in motion a lot of the time. Now this signal started
coming on when I started the car. Since last  week the signal has
settled a bit and only comes on after I pulled off. After I reset those
dip switches yesterday I was hoping the signal would go away and  I'd
be back to my "out of fuel" signal. But the "out of fuel" signal seems
to be fixed, I now get the symbol  associated with the "low hydraulic
pressure". I took the vehicle to a local shop, they can only check
the braking system, not the complete hydraulic system. No visual
problems. We put the car on a brake tester. I got about 3.6KN of
braking force which the guys told me was very good. My handbrake though
failed the test at a mere 15% efficiency. :) This signal could
either mean low hydraulic  pressure because of the brakes or because
of the power steering. They run off the same reservoir. How do I
determine which one is faulty?

When I removed the cluster unit I noticed a small blue-capped
rheostat on the the cluster. If you look at the cluster from the
front you will see 3 holes for screws and one hole that makes you
think you lost one screw along the way. But in fact this  hole is for
using a long philips head screwdriver to reach this small rheostat.
The rheostat is mounted on a small PCB from which run 3 wires. I
followed the wires and could only see them disapper into the instrument
housing. What is this rheostat used to adjust?

What can I check to determine what is causing the "low hydraulic
pressure" signal to display? Where are the sensors that would
trigger this warning located? Anybody else having this problem?

Thanks.

G.
-- 
"a thousand miles from here, there is another person smiling"
1990 Turbo (200T)
name   : gerard van vught
tel    : +27-57-912 2658 (w) / 082 923 9609 (cell)
url    : http://www.acenet.co.za/homepages/gerard/
e-mail : gerard@poboxes.com  / han.solo@galaxycorp.com
         gerard@acenet.co.za / van_vught@frg.issi.co.za