Date: Fri, 3 May 2013 01:16:20 -0400
Reply-To: Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@HOTMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@HOTMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Bluestar project progress-small problems-Sensors
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
The temp 2 sensors on the 1.9L Vanagons and many other VWs is a 2 wire screw
in sensor.
Dennis
-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
Scott Daniel - Turbovans
Sent: Friday, May 3, 2013 12:25 AM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: Bluestar project progress-small problems
Hi ..I should have realized that of course, since the 02 is in the cat on a
2.1.
some history on VW van temp sensors ..
ona Type IV air-cooled engine ..fitted to 72 to 79 Buses, and 80 to 83
vanagons...
those have a temp sensor screwed into the head , with one wire.
Corrosion where it screws into the head can be a problem.
the next gasoline engine up, the 1.9 waterboxer uses the temp sensor you
have ..single contact, screw-in.
Thoseseem to work just fine on 1.9 wbxrs.. ( and diesel vanagons too ) and
syncro's too ..
but it is very much like VW do make something ..
then improve it in later versions..
hence the two wire temp sensor with dedicated ground wire as part of a two
contact temp sensor.
in later VW's ..jettas etc....those all have two contact temp sensors I
believe, in plastic housings.
it's not so much that it is a 'two wire temp sensor' ..
it is a regular single contact sensor with a dedicated ground wire, rather
than depending on getting ground through the threads of the sensor ..
and of course..
if they are going to cheapen things up by going to super inexpensive plastic
parts ( once you make a machine to mold a plastic part ..you can crank out
billions of them at low cost ..the unit cost gets to almost nothing
eventually ..
a big advantage of plastic parts of in any application ) ...
so it's not going to get ground through a plastic part..
so ...dedicated grnd wire, two contacts.
as Isaid, don't overthink it.
connect the yellow/red gauge temp sensor wire to the single contact sensor
and move on to the next thing.
Those metal t-stat housings are junk and you should send it to me and
I'lltake it off your hands.
lol.
On 5/2/2013 8:54 PM, Steve Cotsford wrote:
> Thanks for putting me straight Scott. Yes of course I meant oxygen
sensor....its just because it screws into the cat.....duh!
>
> Thats interesting that the single wire temp gauge sensor will drive
> the gauge wired for two wire sensor. I really hope you are right:-) I
encountered a very similar situation in a Volvo where that was not the case.
>
> If there is any way I can keep the metal t-stat housing I would like to do
so. I will be trying out the single wire signal.
>
> Thanks again, Steve
>
> On May 2, 2013, at 11:21 PM, Scott Daniel - Turbovans wrote:
>
>> there is no such thing as a two wire screw-in temp sensor for a vanagon.
>>
>> take your yellow/red temp sender wire and connect it to the single
>> contact on your screw-in temp sensor.
>> I think it will work just fine if you don't even connect the brown
>> ground wire..
>> I think that goes to ground anyway ..
>> but you can ground that brown wire .
>>
>> can sell you a plastic 2WD t-stat housing if you wish, new.
>> the metal one is better. Obviously.
>> the plastic ones shrink, dissolve, and generally fail in silly ways,
>> eventually.
>>
>> Don't overthink it.
>>
>> cat converter cable ??? No wires go to the cat.
>> perhaps you mean oxygen sensor .
>> that connector is easy to identify ..
>> the green coax........that's 02 sensor signal feed to the ecu.
>> the double plug is 02 heat.
>> anytime the engine is running you should see 12 volts there.
>>
>> On 5/2/2013 8:12 PM, Steve Cotsford wrote:
>>> OK I think I have solved my mystery connector issue. Dennis put me on
the right track.
>>>
>>> I have discovered that my engine is from an '86 syncro. As such, it
has a METAL thermostat housing and a temp gauge sender that just has one
wire (fits like a nail head on the sender instead of a plug. This sender
screws into the housing.
>>>
>>> The van is an '89 2wd and presumably it had a PLASTIC thermostat housing
on the original engine. It seems it had a 2 wire temp gauge sender as the
wires in Bentley jive with this (two pin, red/yellow and brown wires).
The sender would have been held in place with an o-ring and clip.
>>>
>>> What I need to find now is a two wire temp gauge sender that threads
into the metal thermostat housing. Alternatively, I need a plastic
thermostat housing to take the place of the metal one, so I can install the
sender that gets held in place with an o-ring and clip.
>>>
>>> Does anyone know if in fact there is screw in two temp gauge sender ?
If there is, I believe it would be for a 1987-1991 syncro with metal
thermostat housing.
>>>
>>> Its confusing that both the temp gauge sender cable and the catalytic
converter cable have plugs with same color wires (red/yellow and brown) as
well as the same kind of connector. Only the length of the pigtail
differentiates them.
>>>
>>>