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Date:         Sun, 4 May 2008 16:14:39 -0400
Reply-To:     craig cowan <phishman068@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         craig cowan <phishman068@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: Operating temperature? (temp gauge needle, etc)
Comments: To: pickle vanagon <greenvanagon@gmail.com>
In-Reply-To:  <91c8f9760805041244g714fff76s9840485af7e74a37@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

I bought a replacement Temp 1 sensor from a FLAPS simply because mine was missing half of the brass connector plug (it got ground off in a wonderful thermostat problem a while back...). The connector would still connect to the Temp 1 sensor, and it worked fine.....i simply replaced it because it looked like it was in a "bad state" as a result of the filling. I installed the new FLAPS Temp1 sensor only to find it was EXTREMELY soft brass and stripped its own head off just on installation, and when i plugged it in and started the car, the gauge read ALOT hotter than it had before. I busted out my handy Infrared Temp gun and all seemed well. I couldn't tollerate the gauge problem, so i grabbed it with vicegrips, ripped it out, and put the old one back in. The "used for 10 min but destroyed Temp Sensor" has been thrown away. Luckily, the old one had not. This is just another example of how vanagon parts should never really be thrown away, as you'll always come upon something that's "more broken" : )

By the way, i just did my whole head job, and had a ton of challenges come up along the way..... And mine is also reading a bit hotter than before.... I need to do more testing, bleeding, and running soon, but it's curious to see you have similar issues.

-Craig '85Gl

On Sun, May 4, 2008 at 3:44 PM, pickle vanagon <greenvanagon@gmail.com> wrote:

> After putting everything back together after my head-job gone wild, > everything is great except that the temperature gauge reads warmer than > before (yes I bled the system). Before it sat just on the right edge of > the > LED. Now it sits 3/4 of the way up the gauge, a full half way between > the > LED and the far right side. > > When I was putting everything back together, I cleaned all wires and > grounds > I encounted and replaced the gauge sensor (along with the TEMP 2 sensor) > in > the thermostat housing. I believe that my van is running at normal > temperature and that the cleaned up wires/new sensor is responsible. > > The new sensor is not from a list vendor. I got it on a whim at a FLAPS > while picking up some other stuff. It is aftermarket and comes in a red > box > with the brand name "standard" on the box. > > I picked up an infrared temp gun today from autozone ($19.99 !!) and > measured hoses/etc. After lots of driving, with the needle at 3/4 the way > up the gauge, I get 185-195 at the hose coming out of the thermostat > housing, and 200-205 at the crossover pipe that goes from the passenger > side > head into the thermostat housing, and on the thermostat housing itself. > The temperature of the radiator return hose going into the thermostat is > much lower, say 120. This seems to me to indicate that the thermostat is > mostly closed, which should make sense since it only starts to open at > 190. (These temperatures are maximums; also this is a 1.9l where the > thermostat housing is bolted to the water pump.) The temperature is very > steady making it seem like it is being effectively maintained by the > thermostat. If I drive with the heater on full blast, and let everything > stabilize, the temperatures are only affected by 5 degrees or so (they end > up at the bottom of the ranges rather than the top). > > Two questions: > 1. Do these temperatures seem okay to people? For as many posts as there > are in the archives talking about the use of infrared temperature guns, I > couldn't find any which list accept temperature ranges. What do other > people find at these points in their 1.9l (with standard thermostats)? > > 2. If my cooling system is functioning and these numbers are good, what > can > I do to fix the gauge? If I leave it as is, there is less effective > resolution at the hot end of the scale, where it matters. Will the sensor > I > get from VW or a list vendor be better than the aftermarket one I got? I > found some reference in the archives to the fact that VW changed the spec > on > this sensor, which causes this problem when the new sensors are installed > in > the old vans. Unfortunately, I can't find my old sensor now... maybe I > threw it away. But in any case it was not in great shape. I've heard of > people modding the new sensors by adding a resistor. Is this a good > solution? > > thanks very much! > -Wes > '83 1.9l westy >


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