Product News

July 2011 - Our new and improved TPS Switch Kits are in stock and available at the Van Cafe. The stainless mounting plate is now sand blasted on both sides to provide a better surface for epoxy to adhere to. The microswitch is carefully positioned and epoxied in place, which prevents it from needing further adjustment, or changing position due to loosened hardware. We are looking into a TPS Switch design that would function like the Hall Sensor in your distributor, thus eliminating the cam / roller / microswitch pieces in the current (and VW) TPS Switch. A prototype needs to be designed to fit into the available space, and then tested in our 91 Westy. We would like to have a prototype assembled and ready to test by the end of the summer. Stay tuned for developements. Other development projects include further research into SMT (surface mount) circuitry, and also EMI (Electromagnetic Interference) Filters for our ECU Monitors. A reminder about installing our TPS Switch Kit - Make sure your air throttle is the same vintage as your Vanagon. If you have the older (smaller diameter cam) air throttle, you will need to replace the old style cam with a later model cam. The smaller diameter cam will not contact the microswitch actuator. Replacement is a simple process; just remove your old cam, and replace with the newer style. These are currently available at van-cafe.com. Thanks to all our customers for your continued and valued support, and to everyone, have a great summer.

January 2011 - The 9V Battery requirement is a thing of the past. Our latest, and all future ECU Monitor Kits will be supplied to operate on the 12V from your Vanagon battery! This means no more dead or weak batteries, making the monitor able to run for longer duration or entire trips to help isolate and identify intermittent problems. It also reduces the end user expense, and keeps a few 9V batteries out of our recycle programs, landfills, and trash cans. The 8691 Kits are the first to be offerred "Battery Free", and the future builds of both the 8691 and the 8385 will be supplied likewise. VW has made fan resistors once again available, but since nobody seems to know how long this will last, we are continuing our design work on our Fan Resistor Kit. I have been running a 100W resistor in our 91 Vanagon for three months now, with no problems. I want to experiment with a 50W (smaller, lighter, and lower cost) resistor, and plan to begin some basic tests before the end of January. If testing is positive, we will hopefully be able to offer a much lower priced replacement compared to the VW part cost. We are also moving into SMT (surface mounted technology) components in order to miniaturize our monitor electronic circuitry. This will allow users to mount the digital display on the dash, and install the interface under-dash, making it a more permanent installation, as well as less intrusive and easier to read. Hopefully we will be announcing news about this product later this year. We also want to thank our faithful customers for supporting our products and philosophies, contacting us with questions and suggestions, and of course the owner and staff of the Van Cafe in Santa Cruz, who have been so very helpful in allowing us to celebrate 2011, our Eighth Anniversary !! Best wishes to all for a Healthy and Happy New Year !!

October 2010 - The most recent addition to the difficult to obtain parts list is the VANAGON FAN RESISTOR. These were originally a VW replacement part, but the supply seems to have just about dried up. We have been busy doing some research and testing to put together a Fan Resistor Kit to prevent the loss of necessary cooling air during those hot moments your radiator needs some help. Once the fan resistor burns open, it causes the fan motor to stop operating completely, which may be alright in Lake Tahoe in the winter, but does not work almost anywhere on a hot summer day. We will be installing a replacement resistor in our 91 Westy, and doing some road testing of it, and a new mounting bracket to locate the resistor directly in the fan's air flow. This should reduce heat wear on the resistor, and improve it's lifespan. We are also planning to provide 6 each 8691 Monitors to the Van Cafe by year end, that are modified to power the monitor's digital meter with vehicle power, eliminating the 9V battery requirement. 2011 is also our target to develop and design a smaller, compact Monitor Display Unit (MDU) that can be dash (or possibly instrument panel) mounted, taking a fraction of the current space requirement, and designed to operate full time as a vehicle accessory. Stay tuned for future developments, and results from our colleague in Washington state on the functionality of our AFC Monitor for older (pre-Digijet) Vanagons. Best wishes for a Happy Thanksgiving!

July 2010 - The Van Cafe has been out of Battery Savers, and we have just received the latest shipment of newly designed printed circuit boards from Express PCB. We will be busy this weekend building up 25 kits for restocking on Monday morning. The voltage regulator has been relocated to mount in a lower profile, and we have moved the mounting spacer UNDER the regulator, providing a stronger mount for the device. The heat sink has also been positioned to radiate heat more efficiently. There is a provision to support the use of two different size tone generator modules (sometimes one or the other is out of stock at our suppliers). Our plan is to provide a prototype AFC ECU Monitor to a shop facility in Washington state that specializes in older van repairs for them to test on the elder fuel management systems. Hopefully, we will be shipping this system to them next week. Assuming testing is sucessful, the AFC Monitor will round out our selection to cover all Vanagons. Stay tuned for updates. Monday is also our target date to restock Throttle Position Switch (TPS) Kits. We have had very positive feedback from users on this component, and suggest you keep these in mind, should you have the need. The weather is beautiful (after 12 Noon) here on the coast, and we are hoping to also fit in some local flying over the Summer months. We will also continue to add to our collection of technical and troubleshooting documentation as time permits. Thanks to all our loyal and patient customers for their continued support!

March 2010 -The TPS Kit is available for purchase from the Van Cafe. They have approximately 20 units in stock at this point in time. They have tested one unit in one of their Vanagons, and I have had one in my Vanagon since November working perfectly. Since there are no throttle shaft clips available from VW, our stock has been exhausted, and the current available kits will be the last ones (for a while anyway) that will have a throttle shaft clip included. We believed that a new clip was a nice touch, but it is certainly NOT a requirement for replacing the switch. You simply work the old clip off the shaft carefully, and reuse it. Kit instructions will be changed to reflect this in future TPS Kits.If replacement clips become available down the road, we will include them in future kits.

We will be developing a methodology for ECU monitoring on the AFC fuel injection systems installed on 1974 through 1983 Vanagons. A shop owner in Washington State has offerred to assist us with testing our prototype(s) as we work towards a solution. Because the AFC System is so different from both the Digijet and Digifant Systems, we may design a new ECU Monitor, which will look similar to the existing 8691V, but display the germane AFC functions. There is a new page on our site where AFC System wiring and troubleshooting information is available. Simply click on AFC INFORMATION on the sidebar. Feel free to utilize this data to your advantage if you have a problem, or you simply wish to tune-up your older Vanagon. Additions will be made on a regular basis, so make sure to check out this valuable area regularly for updates. Again, any ideas or suggestions are always welcome, so don't hesitate to contact us.

Our Battery Saver Kit has been "re-rolled" to include ALL the connectors for you to install the system on any Vanagon. These "Bat Savers" have been running on Vanagons all over the country for several years now, and are a great way to help protect your battery, and avoid the frustration of getting back to an unstartable vehicle. Note: standard VW operation is to allow the parking and tail lights to remain ON if the headlight switch is left ON, with the ignition switch OFF. While you can get away with doing this for a relatively brief period, this condition will normally drain your battery if you are gone for a good part of the day.

December 2009 - We have been very busy recently developing and testing a new kit to offer the Vanagon Community and our customers. The kit is the TPS-1 Throttle Position Switch Kit, and will allow you to replace the switch currently connected to your engine throttle shaft in a reasonably simple step by step procedure. VW does not make these available, and there are very few if any out there. Rather than building an entire new assembly, we have designed a mounting plate fabricated of thin stainless steel to fit right onto your existing switch mounting plate. The heart of the product is a mil spec environmentally sealed microswitch, model DC-2, manufactured in Germany by CHERRY. It utilizes a teflon roller actuator to reduce friction as it is activated by the throttle shaft cam. It is a reasonable assumption that this microswitch will last as long as our Vanagons. We have included all the required parts and items to perform the installation yourself. You will need the hand tools required to remove and replace your Throttle Body and your old switch, and a soldering pencil (optional) to tin the throttle switch wire ends if you choose to do so. (this simply keeps the wire strands in each wire together before placing the wires in the TPS-1 connector.) We provide the following in your kit: preassembled and tested microswitch / mounting plate assembly, replacement cam retainer washer, SERB, sandpaper, solder, epoxy "kit", alcohol swab, and detailed instructions. We are shooting for a January 4th availability date. These will be available on the Van Cafe website when they receive their initial order. Stay tuned for further news on this item.

April 2009 - Recent customer feedback has us putting on our thinking caps once again. First, we are considering offering a service where we would install (solder) the 12" cable wires to your ECU, after first testing it here, and verifying proper operation. We should be able to turn these around in a couple of days at a modest shipping cost. Any comments are welcome. We are also working on modifying the long ribbon cables to make them into a 1/4" round cable, which would provide much improved protection to the ribbon cable wires. This cable style will be utilized on our Jetta ECU Monitor prototype, which we will release to Jon Porter this month for testing. First printed circuit board draft of our "No 9V Battery Required" circuit being finalized for introduction into our next production run of 8691 circuit boards. As usual, Spring has Sprung...

January 2009 - The holiday season has been a busy one for us as we introduce one new kit, our ECU RIBBON CABLE KIT, individual ECU RIBBON CABLE PIGTAILS, and embark on a new path to develop ECU monitor capability on 1988 - 1992 VW Jetta & Golf vehicles. We will be working on this project with Jon Porter at the Wagen Haus in Tallahassie Florida. The ECU RIBBON CABLE KIT in conjunction with our 8385 ECU MONITOR KIT will allow you to connect your ECU Monitor to either a Digifant or Digijet equipped Vanagon. Our ECU Ribbon Cable Pigtails are available individually, and will allow you to utilize your ECU Monitor with a second Digijet or Digifant equipped Vanagon. In summary, if you have 2 Digijets, you would utilize an 8385 kit with a Digijet Pigtail; 2 Digifants, you would utilize an 8691 kit with a Digifant Pigtail, and for 1 each Digijet and Digifant, an 8385 kit with an 8586 ECU Ribon Cable Kit. The Van Cafe currently has ECU RIBBON CABLE KITS in stock, and can order the Pigtails with a one week lead time.

October 2008 - The warranty period for all Shoebox Electronix products has been extended to 2 years or 24 months, whichever comes first. All kidding aside, all current and two year old products are covered by our 100% customer satisfaction warranty. If at any time during the first two years, our product fails to function properly, we will repair or replace it at no charge. Shipping cost TO us is at your expense, and return shipping is covered under the warranty. This is a good reason to return the Warranty Card provided with your product. If you have purchased one of our products in the past two years, fill out and return the Warranty Card now, or send us an email via the CONTACT US tab, and we will update your information here. We are pleased to offer this additional buyer protection to our customers.

September 2008 - The first 8385 ECU Monitor Kits for the 1983-1985 Digijet equipped Vanagon will be delivered to the Van Cafe tomorrow, September 23. They should be available at the Van Cafe website http://www.van-cafe.com sometime this week. Initially these kits will be sold exclusively by the Van Cafe, either over the counter, or via their website. We will have a purchase link to their shopping cart ASAP. Suggested Retail Price $249.95. See the Digijet ECU Monitor tab on our homepage for more information.

August 2008 - The prototype Digijet Interface has been delivered to the Van Cafe in Santa Cruz for in-shop testing. While Peter and the crew are busy at their end, we will be completing the final design and fabrication of our new product, the 8385V ECU Monitor Kit. This kit will contain the 8691V ECU Monitor, the Digijet Interface, an additional longer 25 conductor cable, and all parts required, along with detailed instructions for installation and operation. This kit will allow 1983 1/2 - 1985 Vanagon owners to utilize the 8691V Monitor, up until now only functional on 1986 -1991 models.

July 2008 - Completed first Digijet Interface Card breadboard, and tested in our 84 Vanagon, Trusty, here in Capitola. Breadboard shipped to user in Bristol UK, for in-vehicle testing on his European market 1990 Vanagon (Type 2) equipped with a Digijet fuel injection FCU. User reports monitor is functional and operating almost normally, with the exception of two or three status indicators and analog readings. Further work needed.

June 2008 - Adding extra tap splice & wire to 8691 Battery Saver Kits to address issue of headlight switch variations mainly in 86-89 Vanagons. Completed preliminary design of cable connector interface circuit board, which will allow the use of the 8691V ECU Monitor to connect to the older Digijet FCUs. Testing using our 1984 Vanagon, Trusty, will be starting June 23.

May 2008 - Designing breadboard circuit for Digijet FCU Monitor. Will be testing this on our 84 Digijet Vanagon in the beginning of June. Will post details on progress as we go. modified 8691V ECU Monitor circuit changes are temporarily on hold.

January 2008 - Modified Instructions with additional wire tap splice for 1984 & 1985 Vangons are available at no charge with Battery Saver Kits ordered through the Van Cafe.