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Date:         Mon, 15 Sep 2003 17:03:27 -0700
Reply-To:     "Katherine J. Maas" <kathmaas@TELUS.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         "Katherine J. Maas" <kathmaas@TELUS.NET>
Subject:      HELP:  problem with temperature gauge (or something)
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="ISO-8859-1"

I wonder if any of you gurus out there can help me out.

A couple of weeks ago I had my 1987 Westy in for servicing. I always take it to a mechanic I really trust. Heıs a VW specialist and works on lots of them. Heıs been working on my Westy since I originally owned it ‹ for about 4 years now.

In the course of this service, he replaced the thermostat housing, which had cracked. Then he noticed that the temperature gauge on the dash board was continuously reading at the top of the scale. It has never done this before ‹ I know because Iım an inveterate temperature gauge watcher, having burned out an engine on a Chevy once because of a faulty cooling system.

Thinking something else must have been malfunctioning, he bled the system, replaced the gauge (twice), replaced the temperature sensor, changed the vibrator, and checked all the wiring. He worked on the vehicle for about 1.5 days at no charge, since this malfunction started as a result of his replacing the thermostat housing ‹ and he still canıt fix it. The fan is cycling OK, and the engine isnıt overheating ‹ they have checked it repeatedly at all points with infrared sensors.

This week he got in a new temperature gauge and tried replacing it once more, but to no avail. It still reads constantly at the top of the scale (hot, that is). So for the time being he has disconnected the gauge. He assures me that itıs safe to drive, and that I canıt burn out the engine even if it did overheat, because the radiator cap is designed to blow at 15 PSI. Iıve been driving it myself without problems, and I notice the fan kicks in at the times it typically has in the past ‹ mostly when idling or driving slowly in traffic.

But Iıd prefer to have a working temperature gauge, so Iım wondering if anyone else out there has ever encountered a problem like this, and if so, how did you resolve it? Please reply to me by p-mail if you have any suggestions.

Thanks, Katherine (and Vanita)


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