Date: Fri, 25 Jun 2021 12:55:47 -0400
Reply-To: Eric Caron <ericcaron96@COMCAST.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Eric Caron <ericcaron96@COMCAST.NET>
Subject: Re: Oil Temp Sender and Gauge
In-Reply-To: <CAK9Aa+nNUU7JK9Yrg0OLDuBjiTSqegBSjR29xyVWHd+aCNzFHg@mail.gmail.com>
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Hi Bruce,
That is impressive work on your part. So nice to hear your van is happy!
Keep the updates coming. The engine upgrade is very interesting.
Best.
Eric Caron
85 GL Auto
GW Dennis built 2.3
> On Jun 25, 2021, at 11:25 AM, Bruce Todd <beeceetee@GMAIL.COM> wrote:
>
> Ok - so with some guidance from Dennis - I can update the list by stating
> the digital oil temp gauge was pooched. The good news is it comes with a
> lifetime warranty. The bad news is that the buyer paid postage will cost
> about the same as a new gauge when sending it to Ohio. Oh well - I settled
> on a VDO analog gauge for about the same price I bought the digital one for
> from Intellitronix. When I removed the VDO gauge from the packaging I
> could tell I had a better instrument - perhaps the weight - just felt and
> looked well put together. Plunked it into the gauge cluster after wiring
> it to all the leads - and voila I now have readings!
>
> I bought the VDO gauge at Cal Imports and it being located about 30 km from
> me - I took the van on a good highway run on a relatively warm day. I have
> to marvel again, by replacing the rockers and fuel injectors with the
> Mansispeed products I am grinning from ear to ear - noticing a subtle power
> increase. Not requiring to change gears as quickly when climbing inclines
> and just having a little more power at my fingertips when driving highway
> speeds. I noticed this on both ends of the Alex Fraser bridge where there
> are times I have to pop the van into third - but not yesterday - steady
> 3000 rpm in 4th and keeping up with the flow of traffic all the way.
>
> The cooling system is working well - I had it rechecked about 2 weeks ago
> and everything is good - just the temp gauge is still reading a little
> higher than what I am used to. Could be the new aluminum t-stat housing -
> not sure but the fan comes on when it should and things stayed steady
> yesterday - needle didn't budge much when idling in traffic.
>
> Another small victory was that the oil dripping from the pressure hose
> fittings for relocating the oil pressure switch has stopped. Thanks Dennis
> for the tip on using a thread sealer - things are very dry again under the
> butt of the van and on top of the case where oil was also seeping from the
> oil pressure sender I had installed.
>
> OK - the kinks seem to finally be worked out and summer is here - so
> hopefully (knock on wood or pat the dash 5 times), I will have few issues
> to contend with and report during vacation season. One last project is to
> set up and try out the rear attaching add a room tent I picked up last
> fall from Bus Depot.
>
> Thanks for all the tips everyone.
>
> BT
>
> On Thu, Jun 24, 2021 at 8:53 AM Bruce Todd <beeceetee@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>>
>> So - I am having some issues getting an aftermarket digital oil temp gauge
>> to work.
>>
>> The sender connects to a threaded adaptor that replaces the oil
>> relief plug - which I imagine many of you folks likely have in place on
>> your beloved vans. First question - if this is your set up, have you had
>> to ground the sender since the bottom of the block is aluminum? When I
>> jumper a ground to the sender the gauge reads -18C which equates to 0
>> Fahrenheit...(I opted for Celcius over Fahrenheit). Without the jumper to
>> the ground, the gauge reads full scale - 181C or 300 F. Note - This is
>> just with the ignition on without any temp being generated from the motor.
>>
>> When I run the motor with the sender jumped to ground and the sender wire
>> attached to the gauge the gauge just stays on -18C and there is no
>> fluctuation - so somewhere in this equation the resistance isn't dropping
>> as the oil temp rises....which is how I believe things work with temp
>> gauges.
>>
>> If I drive the van without the sender grounded - the gauge at full scale
>> (181C) begins to slowly decrease as the motor warms up - but continues to
>> drop until it reaches -18C and then stays there - it doesn't set on a
>> temperature.
>>
>> This gauge is from Intellitronix (M9108) and came with a sender. I had
>> originally installed a GW sender but then exchanged that earlier this week
>> thinking it might be the issue as it may not be matched correctly with the
>> gauge.
>>
>> When looking at GW (as a resource) they don't seem to mention grounding
>> the sender - nor did the instructions I received for the gauge and sender -
>> however I imagine they typically sell these units to vehicles that don't
>> have an aluminum cases and the sender grounds directly to the motor.
>>
>> Any thoughts appreciated as I am running out of ideas here.
>>
>>
>> Bruce
>>
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